


Drabbles and One Shots - Pre-ETTR

by cheers_mrhiddleston



Series: The Hiddleston Twins [2]
Category: Actor RPF, British Actor AU, British Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Drug Use, Explicit Sexual Content, Female Character of Color, Fluff and Angst, Group Sex, Multi, Polyamory, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 18:55:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16838440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheers_mrhiddleston/pseuds/cheers_mrhiddleston
Summary: One shots and short drabbles that are standalone and can be read independently of the rest of the twins universe. Fluff, smut, angst.





	1. Opportunity - Uni!Twins

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on Tumblr, check out the fic and more about the twins at the-hiddleston-twins.tumblr.com  
> By Madison (cheers-mrhiddleston.tumblr.com) and Christine (teacuphiddlesfics.tumblr.com)
> 
> Summary: Thomas and William are having the times of their lives away from their parents and responsibility while they attend university, experiencing a host of new people and things. When a girl they meet at a party gives them an interesting proposition, they decided to try something they don’t expect to love.
> 
> Thomas and William are both 19 in this chapter, and Rose is 20, just for clarification.

## Opportunity

It’s true what they say about finding yourself once you’re in university; just ask Thomas and William.

From the moment they moved into their room, their father giving them quirt handshakes goodbye and their mother kissing their cheeks, there had never been a dull moment. They were free, fully, for the first time in their lives, with no curfews, prying eyes, or the possibility of getting caught by their father hanging over their heads.

The twins had made friends instantly, gotten into the rhythm of switching places for classes (Thomas wouldn’t be caught dead in a literature class, and William could never understand the business lectures), and of course, the alcohol, parties, and girls were in full supply.

Every weekend, they went out with David and Aaron to whatever the biggest party was, got thoroughly drunk, and more often than not, either Thomas or William would wake up with a girl in his twin bed.

Thomas, apparently, had a penchant for bringing home girls in his literature class, leaving for an awkward confrontation on Mondays when they approached William during class and became frustrated when he didn’t seem to remember them.

William, coming out of his last relationship just before move-in because she thought “the distance isn’t feasible, but we can still be friends,” greedily found every opportunity to bury his face between a new girl’s legs. With each one, the better he got at it, until just after their first winter exams he encountered his first squirter. He bragged to Thomas for days.

It was their birthday weekend, their first away from home, though they had promised their mother they would come home at the end of the month when they weren’t so busy. Richard, Thomas’s friend that was spending more and more time with him, David, and Aaron, insisted he throw them a party at his flat.

William was weary of Richard, sensing a vibe off of him from the first day he had sat between he and Thomas in marketing. But neither he nor his twin were ones to pass up a birthday party, especially since Richard’s proposed guestlist was eighty percent female.

Thomas found his brother about halfway through the night, a half-smoked joint in one hand and a bottle of Guinness in the other. “You gonna take someone home as a present, little brother?”

William shook his head with a smile. “I hate it when you call me that.” He took a long chug of his own drink. He knew he’d be smelling the marijuana for days, while Thomas’s clothes would sit forgotten on the floor until he deemed it finally time to do laundry.

“Doesn’t matter. Another year, another reminder who came into this world first.” Thomas grinned and surveyed the crowd, easily done with their height advantage. “Want any?” he asked, holding up the joint that William had to keep from scowling at.

“I’m alright.” He waved him off and cast his own glance at the many girls around the flat. “There was one, actually, white shirt, had a big black choker on.”

“With blonde hair and blue boots?”

“Yeah!”

“I was eying her too, mate.”

“Oh come on, it’s our birthday, and you owe me for playing off that girl last weekend when she came looking for you.”

“Alright,” Thomas huffed out smoke. “I tell you what. Let’s both go at her, and whichever she likes more gets to take her back.”

William considered it, his gaze lingering over the girl in question and finding that her lips were black like her choker. He licked his lips and said, “Deal.”

“Good. Come on.”

They walked in stride across the room, their twin eyes on the girl leaning against the wall, arms crossed on her chest and paying no mind to the approaching birthday boys.

They stopped in front of her, pausing her conversation with a friend. Her eyes widened just a fraction when she realized there were two of them, and Thomas held out what was left of the blunt.

“Thanks,” she said and took it, placing it between her lips. “Are you two the birthday twins?”

William winked. “The very same.”

“Many happy returns.” There was a trace of a smile on her dark lips, but her voice betrayed no obvious interest in Thomas and William.

Thomas took a small step to her and gently plucked the blunt from her lips, her black lipstick staining it. He smirked, raking his eyes down her torso with blatant hunger. “Which means we get presents. So tell me: what do I have to do to unwrap you as my present?”

Despite herself, she bit her lip before cocking her head. “You two trying to sleep with me?”

The twins looked at each other, caught off guard by her casual straightforwardness. “I mean –” William started.

“We had hope.”

“Can’t really blame us.” William shrugged, turning his attention back to her.

She seemed to consider it for a split second as her eyes flicked between their faces. “Together?”

Thomas’s brows met. “What do you mean?”

“Like, do you ever fuck girls at the same time?”

Their jaws dropped simultaneously.

“We’re… brothers?”

“And straight?”

“Brothers!”

“Twins!”

The girl giggled, confused at their expressions. “That’s hot. Your face, times two? That’s any lady’s wet dream.”

The thought had never crossed their minds before. Sure, they both entertained the idea of threesomes, though they involved multiple women and not a twin brother.

“I don’t think…”  
  
“Yeah, that’s just…”

She shrugged, mild disappointment painting her contoured features. “Too bad. That would certainly be a story to brag about. For all involved.” She took a step to walk away, standing between the ogling twins. “I’m Rose, by the way. If you change your mind, Richard knows where I live.”

“Rose, that’s a pretty -”

Thomas was cut off by a kiss to his cheek, William’s brows raising before he received the same from Rose.

They were left to watch her walk away, identical black lip marks on their identical shocked faces.

* * *

“All I’m saying is that she has a point.”

William took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, taking his attention off the textbook in front of him. “Do you know what people would say if they found out?”

“So what? We’re not fucking each other, Jesus. Surely people have the common sodding sense to assume that,” Thomas said and flicked ash from his cigarette out the open window. That was William’s rule: if he was going to smoke in the dorm, he had to do it at the window.

“People always assume the worse,” William muttered.

“If we’re having having fun, and so is the girl, and nobody’s getting hurt,” Thomas shrugged, “what’s it matter?”

He leaned back at his desk and ran a hand through his untamable curls. “I guess it doesn’t.”

Thomas hadn’t shut up about Rose’s idea the night before, not even once he had sobered up and eaten the entire supply of eggs they’d had in their refrigerator, in addition to a full bag of crisps. “Look, you can’t deny it’d be fun as hell,” he said.

“A threesome with my brother?” He scoffed.

“Don’t think of it like that. We’re… we’re sharing, okay? We’ve always shared everything.” Thomas licked his lips, thinking for a moment. “We’ve both got our things, right?” He tossed the butt of his cigarette out the window and started pacing. “You eat them out, I spank them a few times, that really gets them going, it’s really about them having a good time, yeah?”

“I guess so.”

“You’re so worried about appearances, mate. It’s like you’re fucking blind to the line of girls out our door hoping to ride your face into oblivion. You just care about the books.”

“The books matter.”

“Why? We’ve got jobs, the degrees are a formality that Dad forced on us. ‘Try your hand at business classes to get an idea,’ my sodding arse. Just wants someone with his name to shake hands at meetings.”

“Thomas, come on.” The more time they spent away from home, the more resentment Thomas had started to build up against their father. They had both fought to go to the same school, their father thinking some time apart would build them or something, and had nearly withdrawn them when they mentioned they would be living together, like they had their entire lives. Each time they went home, Thomas was more and more on edge. Like he was just waiting for the right opportunity to bite the hand that fed him, and feel no remorse after. “This isn’t about Dad.”

“You’re damn right it’s not,” Thomas agreed. “It’s about an opportunity to try something new. Something you’d be right to do, instead of sitting on your ass trying to pass us in Shakespeare.”

“I’m only trying to pass you.” William rubbed his nose again, setting his glasses back on and meeting Thomas’s gaze. “Say if I agree –”  
  
“Yes!”

“– IF I agree, idiot, we’d need ground rules.”

“Right, sure.”

“No touching each other.”

“That’s fucking obvious, you perv.”

“We both get off by her, no wanking it while just one of us fucks her or something.”

“Fair enough.”

“Is it weird if we watch the other fuck her?”

Thomas shrugged. “Don’t think so, we’ve walked in on each other plenty of times. And you like watching.”

“I like watching their faces, it’s different.”

“That why you can’t tear your eyes away when from the drunk girls who make out with each other?”

A balled-up wad of paper flew through the air at Thomas but missed when he dodged at the last second. “Shut the fuck up.”

Thomas laughed and plopped down at his own desk facing William’s. “Any more rules?”

William sighed at his twin’s overly eager expression and said, “Guess not, no.”

“We can always adjust for the next time.”

“What do you mean the next time?”

“I’m gonna go find Richard, ask him where Rose lives. Maybe go pick up some more eggs, I’m bloody starving.”

“What the – Thomas, your fucking key – what the fuck do you mean the next time?!”

* * *

Rose had been waiting for them to knock on her door all week, and when they finally did, she wasted no time in pulling both of them through the doorway and kissing the first one she could.

Thomas, in turn, wasted no time in running his hands along her long torso, cupping a breast when he felt her tongue prod at his lips. He opened his eyes for a moment to see William run his hands up her back, fisting a hand in her blonde hair.

William pulled her away from Thomas’s lips, turning her head so he could taste the lips he’d been thinking about for days. He kissed her open mouthed, hearing her moan into his mouth when Thomas squeezed both her breasts.

She led them both, dazed and at her beck and call, to her bed, the three of them sitting on the edge with her in the middle.

Rose smirked at the identical hands resting on her legs, bare where her mini-skirt ended. “I see you two changed your minds.”

Thomas kissed her ear. “Thought we ought to try it.”

William’s hand inched up her thigh. “And you were too gorgeous to pass up.”

She laughed at that. “Nice to hear. Now, what would you like to do first?”

Thomas chuckled, his breath hot in her ear. “Pretty sure William wants you to ride his face,” he said and bit her earlobe.

Her eyebrows rose. “I think I’d like that, as long as I got to suck one of you off.”

Some adjustments quickly made, Rose’s skirt was bunched up at her waist as William laid on the bed, lapping at her wet cunt with his tongue. He gripped her thighs though she shook above him and flicked his tongue over her swollen clit before swirling circles around it.

Her hair was wrapped around Thomas’s fists, her head bobbing up and down his cock as he knelt at the head of the bed. He could see her ass peeking out of her skirt just out of reach as she leaned down to take him in his mouth, his brother’s face concentrating beneath her. Her moaning and William’s behest made Thomas hiss, her mouth making lewd noises around him.

The way she was taking him in, the taboo of the threesome, the need of her face brought out by William’s tongue… Fuck, Thomas could barely take it. He was fighting the urge to fuck Rose’s face and come deep down her throat, her gagging around him, and let her continue. Each time he felt himself getting far too close than wanted, he would pull sharply on her bright hair, easing her off while he caught his breath.

William’s cock wanted out, wanted to fuck the girl whose cunt tasted like heaven, who was currently bringing his brother to orgasm while she fought off her own. He wanted to make her come, wanted her to gush all over him like had only happened once before. Digging his long fingers into her thighs, he held her tighter and prodded his tongue at her entrance.

She shuddered, and he knew he had her.

He heard the sloppy sounds she had been making with Thomas quiet, and he heard her moan lowly, “Fucking hell.”

Thomas took his cock in hand, nearly dripping from Rose, and started stroking languidly, watching the familiar look of approaching pleasure reach her features. William had her, he knew immediately, and within seconds her jaw had slackened and her arms buckled, expletives rolling off her filthy tongue.

He was loving this.

William slid out from under her when he fell onto the bed, skirt still around her waist and breasts heaving. His lips glistened with evidence of her orgasm, and with a smirk, he licked his lips.

“Which one,” Rose breathed out, “is gonna properly fuck me now?”

The twins glanced at each other, a silent conversation happening within a fraction of a second.

“I’d like a chance at that cunt, baby,” Thomas mused, reaching into his pocket for one of the condoms they had brought.

“Just as long as I have your mouth,” William said, his own cock wanting out of his jeans desperately. “I was rather fascinated with your lips the other night.”

“Should I put on my black lipstick again?”

He breathed out a laugh. “No, I like them like this.”

She bite her bottom lip with a wink.

Thomas chuckled and grabbed her calf, rotating her body so that her head rested at the foot of the bed, inches away from the heavy bulge William was sporting. William ran a hand over her torso, gently pulling the fabric of her top over her arms and head, finding her braless.

Her cunt was pink and wet and, Thomas found when he teased her with a finger, still quite sensitive from her climax. He wanted to sink himself into her, but waited until his twin was ready to fill her mouth.

With a smirk, she craned her neck to lick at the head of William’s cock just as Thomas inched his way inside her.

Rose’s moans and gasps filled the air the further Thomas went, knowing already that he wasn’t going to last as long as he would have liked. He knew it even more when he started truly fucking her.

William loved her tongue almost as much as he loved her cunt, letting her take all of him in her mouth where he felt the back of her throat at one point. Fuck, she was amazing.

“Oh god baby,” Thomas groaned, adjusting his hands for a better angle. “You’re so tight.”

She hummed, the vibrations making William throw his head back. “Fuck yes Rose, yes…”

Thomas fucked her hard and fast, knowing that was all he could give her under the circumstances, her cries and gasps spurring him as he watched her take William deeper and deeper down her throat. William was right about watching their faces; she looked so blissed out, so full and content.

And strangely, so was he. The awkwardness that William had been fearing was non-existent, instead replaced with twins working as a unit, knowing exactly what the other wanted, sharing like they always had. They could read each other, and read Rose, their connection working towards the goal of her pleasure.

All too soon he knew he was going to come, so he slowed, now admiring her shaking breasts.

William too felt his orgasm approaching sooner than he would have liked; one of Rose’s hands had now come up to fondle his balls, and he knew he was in for it.

Thomas knew, he could see it, because William’s expression mirrored his own.

Bringing a thumb to her clit, he pressed, making her back nearly arch. “Let’s see if you can make him come. Then I’ll make us both come. You wanna come again, baby?”

“Mhmmm,” she moaned, greedily sucking at his brother.

“Yes Rose, fucking Jesus…” William grabbed her hair, silky in his hand. “Oh fuck!”

Thomas thrust into her with a fury, his ministrations on her clit easily bringing out her orgasm that ultimately brought on his, her warm walls pulling him in deeper and deeper. “Shit!”

She went limp beneath them, specks of William’s come near the corners of her lips, though she didn’t bother to wipe them off. Thomas reluctantly pulled himself out of her cunt, sitting back on his knees with a sigh. William stumbled backwards, running a hand through his curls and taking a staggered breath.

Silence expected for their labored breaths were all that could be heard for a few moments.

“Well, I was right,” Rose finally muttered, lips dry.

“What?”

“That’ll be a story to brag about.”

Both twins grinned.

“Yeah?” William huffed.

“Fuck yes.”

Thomas wiped a hand over his brow. “Happy to help.”

A few more beats of quiet.

“So,” William spoke up, a glint in his eyes. “Thomas maybe said something about a next time.”


	2. Merry Fucking Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place before the events of What’s Yours is Mine. William receives an unexpected Christmas present on Christmas Eve.

“Merry fucking Christmas to me,” William muttered, knocking back the tumbler of whiskey - his second of the evening.

He eyed the bare office, not a sign in sight that it was the night before Christmas. The small tree that had been on his secretary’s desk was gone, packed up in the box that had been whisked away earlier that week. It was the third in so many months that he had let go. William didn’t know why he kept bothering HR to find a new assistant. The company was due to go under. A year tops. Maybe he could stretch it to two. But he didn’t have high hopes.

William shoved back away from his desk before he could reach for the bottle a third time and whipped the glasses from his face. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he stood and looked out the windows. Bright, colourful lights filled the city below him. Families were rushing around, making their way home to spend the holidays with loved ones. He scowled at the thought. Holidays hadn’t meant anything to him. Not in years. Not since -

“Fuck that.” William turned back to his desk and poured himself another glass. This was how he celebrated now.

“Excuse me?” A gentle, timid knock came from his office door. “Mr. Hiddleston?”

William sighed as he looked over to the floor’s receptionist. “Yes, Louise?”

She looked uncertain as she opened the door and stepped over the threshold. “A package came for you.”

William raised an eyebrow. “That’s fine, thank you, Louise. You can take off. Spend the evening with your family.”

She offered a smile before setting the package in her hands, wrapped in loud christmas themed paper. William stared at the box until the the receptionist left, and even then, he remained staring at the package. He hadn’t purchased anything. He wouldn’t. Not when he was close to paying the salaries of his employees from his own pocket. His mother still held the tradition of presents wrapped under the tree. Even with her health, he would still find his way to his childhood home to spend Christmas day with her. His father, well, he was more concerned with scamming another poker table than knowing what time of the year it was.

And his brother…

Who the hell knew what his brother was up to.

Narrowing his eyes, William hesitantly picked up the package, weighing it his hands before picking at the wrapping paper. It was rectangular, reminding him of a jewelry box only thicker. He thought about shaking it, but rolled his eyes at the childish notion.

Taking a sip of his whiskey, William ripped at the wrapping paper, tossing it onto his desk without care. The case in his hand was leather bound and as he turned it over, he found his name engraved.

“What the..” an eyebrow raised as he propped the case open.

He stopped breathing when he found the pair of glasses settled on a silk cushion.

Glasses that looked familiar. Too familiar.

Because they were his. At least they looked like his, ones from many years ago. Glasses that had been broken in a drunk rage by his twin. Thomas had apologized once he sobered, even bought him a new pair himself. But it was that moment that their relationship had taken a dive for the worse. Not long later, the nightmare of his most hated night had left his brother god even knows where.

His fingers shook as he gently lifted the glasses from the case. They were exactly the same as he remembered, almost an exact replica.

William knew who it was from without even looking at the small note card lying at the bottom of the case. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he picked up the card.

Merry Christmas

That was it? That was all his absent brother had to say?

He almost wanted to crumple it up, to throw it in the rubbish along with the glasses. But something drove him to flip over the card.

Little brother

William’s eyes closed as he held that card a long moment. Treasured it almost, even more so than the glasses. And after the moment passed, he carefully put both the card and the glasses in its case, reached over to his desk drawer, and safely laid it inside. Pushing the drawer closed he shoved the wrapping paper from his desk to the garbage bin beside it, erasing that the present had even been there at all.

And then William poured himself another glass.


	3. Twenty-Six and Twins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas and William go out one weekend to look for a good prospect for the night, finding a woman celebrating her birthday, and take it upon themselves to make sure she welcomes her 26th year with a bang. Written as a birthday present to Christine.

## Twenty-Six and Twins

William wasn’t too sure about heading out that night; he thought he’d need at least a week to recover from the madness that had been their birthday party a few days prior. But it was a Saturday, and this was the twins’ ritual. Thomas wanted to go out, and so they went out.

The bar was crowded with groups of women, more so than most weekends, and it took a reminder from Thomas for William to connect that tomorrow was Valentine’s Day, and tonight was ladies night. Now he knew why his brother had been so insistent.

Thomas sat at their usual booth on the second level, their favorite vantage point to watch the dancing and girls at the bar. He grabbed the waitress as she sauntered over, winking at Thomas when he rubbed his hand over the small of her back. Perks of owning the place, you got to pick the workers. And he made sure they were just to his liking.

William chuckled as he relayed their drink orders to the girl, who was giggling at Thomas’s wandering fingers now on her hip. With a quick swat to her ass, the laughing girl was gone with one more wink back at Thomas.

“Why do you even do that, you never fuck any of them,” William said, giving the club a preliminary sweeping glance-over.

“I enjoy their reactions.” Thomas put his feet up on the booth.

“You’re going to get them all so frustrated that they all quit.”

“Well, then I’d simply have to follow through to win them back.”

“Scoundrel.”

“The best kind, little brother.”

William shook his head, his gaze pausing on a group of dancing girls in the center of the floor. They looked like a good enough option, until he noticed the small tiara with a veil affixed to it on the head of one of them. Best not to get involved with that, he thought.

The waitress returned a moment later with their drinks and a smile for Thomas. They took simultaneous sips, Thomas now making his own perusal of the area. There was a girl crying at the bar, and while that dress fit her just right, that was too much emotion to get involved in right now. Plenty others with less baggage.

The lights started flashing as he turned his attention to the entrance, watching the new arrivals pour in. God, ladies night had been a fantastic idea. He reached into his jacket, fishing out the new pack of cigarettes from the breast pocket.

“No.”

“It’s my club.”

“You know it turns the girls off when you smell like that shit.”

“I’m not usually the one with my mouth between their legs, am I?”

“Put them. Away.”

Rolling his eyes, he did so, instead taking a large sip of his whiskey. He heard a few whoops from the entrance, turning his head just in time to see a new collection of girls enter, maybe five, with three of them all holding hands.

“Brother.”

“I see them.”

They shuffled to the bar, the three holding hands filling up the few stools left. He saw a round of shots getting prepared, and he smirked to himself. Fun ones, they must be.

William cocked his eyebrow as he studied them, noticing the one in the center stool wearing a tiara, this one without a veil.

He glanced over at Thomas. Birthday?

His twin raised his eyebrow at William’s unspoken question as the girl turned, now showing off a pink sash across her torso that read “Birthday girl!”

Birthday.

They grinned identically at the prospect. Birthday girls were always fun; looking to begin their newest with a bang. A literal one that the twins were perfectly happy and ready to provide.

Thomas waved his hand to catch the attention of their waitress. “Darling, you see that birthday girl at the bar? With the brown hair? Put a bottle of some nice champagne on my tab and send it to her party. And tell her we’ve got a table up here for them, if they’d like it. That’s a good girl.”

The two watched as she made her way down the stairs, through the hordes of people, and to the bar. She motioned to the bartender, telling him of the new order, before finding the girl in question. They saw her lips move and point up to where they sat as the bottle of champagne was presented to them. Two of the girls bounced up and down, clapping the birthday girl on the back.

Her face was now trained on the twins, her mouth hanging open in surprise at their offer. Oh yes, she’d do quite nicely.

In no time they were all climbing the metal stairs to the second level, cramming into the nearby booth with the champagne and handfuls of cocktails. The twins could hear their giggles quite clearly, each sipping on his own drink as he observed the group. The girl’s smile wouldn’t leave her face, her brown eyes catching theirs every once in awhile but always quickly looking away.

“Shall we go congratulate her properly?” William asked.

“It would be the gentlemanly thing to do.”

That made William chuckle as Thomas downed the remaining whiskey.

The booth went silent the moment they walked up to it, five pairs of eyes staring up at them expectantly, a few mouths hanging open.

“Evening, dolls,” William smiled.

“I’m Thomas, this is William. We own the place.” He smirked at the one gasp her heard. “Many happy returns, darling. What’s your name?”

Now four of the five pairs of eyes had moved to the girl, her cheeks growing red with unexpected embarrassment. “It’s, um, Christine,” she said, her eyes shifting between the towering twins.

“How young are you tonight, Christine?”

Thomas rolled his eyes at his brother’s cheesiness, but it made the girls giggle, and that was the end goal.

Her smile grew larger as she brought a hand up to adjust the tiara. “Twenty-six.”

“Ah, lovely year. One of the perks is that you can no longer say you’re twenty-five,” William joked, an innocent smile on his face. But again, it made them giggle, and Thomas had to grin and bare it.

“How about a birthday dance with us darling, hm?” He smiled down at her, watching her cheeks turn even redder.

“I don’t really dance –” Her rejection was cut off by her friends pushing her up, out of the booth, and in between the waiting bodies of Thomas and William.

“Come on, love,” Thomas urged, running a hand down her arm as William put a hand in her hair. “Let’s make this a… memorable birthday for you, yes?”

The beat changed and the lights dropped to a purple hue. Just in time.

“I, um,” Christine looked to her friends, finding only encouragement. “Okay, yeah. Sure.”

William’s hand travelled to the small of her back, and he licked his lips. “Excellent.”

* * *

They had her in the back of a cab within an hour. When she shyly asked William if their last name was Hiddleston, they knew she’d heard the rumors. They knew they had her.

So she willing said goodbye to her friends, with whoops and “you go girl!”s to boot, and sat between them so their hands could roam all over her body.

William moved her hair to one side, kissing and licking up and down her neck and shoulder as Thomas pulled down the neck of her dress, massaging her breasts through her dress.

“Having a good birthday so far, baby?” William breathed in her ear, giving a lick along the shell of it.

“I’d fucking say so,” she confessed with a smile. Oh, she was cheeky.

The car pulled into their driveway soon after, Thomas pulling her out of the backseat with a grip on her wrists, William rushing to open their front door as they all shuffled inside.

Christine’s mouth fell open, the expansive space the most gorgeous house she’d ever seen. She wished she’d been able to take it all in, see the sunlight pouring in through the windows that took up a majority of the outer walls, but Thomas’s hand on the small of her back helped lead her up the staircase.

The bedroom he opened to her was just as breathtaking. Mirrors lined the entirety of one of the walls, the giant four poster bed covered in black sheets was obviously larger than a king sized. Leather chairs sat in one corner, a large wooden trunk at the foot of the bed, and the lighting provided just by a few lamps was dim but effective.

Suddenly she was pushed forward, closer to the edge of the bed. William stalked towards her, eyes raking over her body, before he met her with a quick. “What a lovely birthday girl. Would you like us to unwrap you?”

“Isn’t that supposed to be something I do?”

A swat to her ass made her jump and bite her lip.

“Not tonight, doll. Answer the question: would you like my brother and I to unwrap you?”

She swallowed. “Yes.”

“Perfect,” she heard a nearly identical voice behind her say, just as her birthday sash was tossed on the floor. The zipper of her dress was being tugged down while William simultaneously dragged it off her body, pooling it on the floor so that she was exposed to them. She wasn’t sure who did it, but somehow her panties ended up there as well a moment later.

“Mmm, look at you,” William ran his hands up her thighs, her hips, waist, finally cupping her breasts. She felt the bra clasp come undone, and he tugged that off as well. “I can’t wait to taste you.”

Christine couldn’t even respond before his mouth crashed against hers, his lips gliding over her willing lips with ease. She could barely stifle a moan at how soft and needy he was.

But William broke the kiss roughly, hands digging into the flesh of her waist. Her breathing became hard as she watched his mouth turn up slightly in a smirk, wishing she knew what he and Thomas had in store for her.  
  
All of a sudden he was pushing her, albeit gently, and she fell onto the bed with a surprised gasp.  
  
There was no time to adjust her body before two hands, rougher than William’s, were pulling her further back by her biceps. The hands and arms sat her up, back pressed against a hot and bare torso.  
  
Thomas was holding her as he rested against the headboard, and though she couldn’t see him, she could feel the smile when he put his lips to her ear.  
  
“God, look at you, so vulnerable before us.” His arm that had somehow wrapped itself around her waist squeezed slightly. “Such a gorgeous little birthday girl.”  
  
She shuddered when he bit her earlobe, hard, as William started to remove his tie. She tried to concentrate on his hands slowly undo the buttons on his shirt, but Thomas’s tongue on her neck was making it difficult to focus on much else.  
  
He pulled a handful of her dark hair suddenly. “You’re going to be good for my brother and I, aren’t you darling?” His voice was so low, so enveloping, and all Christine could do was nod. He pulled again. “I didn’t hear you,” he said.  
  
“Yes sir,” she replied, her throat gone dry with anticipation.  
  
She felt a hand grip an ankle. “Once more, doll,” William tempted.  
  
She adjusted her gaze, seeing his shirt was completely gone and he rested with a leg on the edge of the bed.  
  
Nodding as best she could, she managed to repeat, “Yes sir.”

She could only assume that the grin on his face was mirrored by Thomas behind her.  
  
William took her other ankle in hand, spreading her legs as he climbed closer to her waiting body. Thomas’s hand left her hair, trailing slowly down her neck, pinching an already hard nipple, and staying to rest just under her belly button.  
  
“Does she look wet yet, William?”  
  
“Oh god, does she.”  
  
“Ooh,” he cooed by my ear. “Let’s see…”  
  
She let out a wanton moan as his long fingers descended, teasingly gliding over her lower lips. Parting them, he ran his middle finger along her clit. Through hooded eyes, she saw William lick his lips.  
  
“Mmm, very nice, darling…” He rubbed lightly as William’s hands crept up to her sensitive thighs. She tried to no avail to buck her hips, but William held her securely down as Thomas’s other hand took her breast in hand. “Don’t hold back from us, understand? We want it all.” He pinched, hard, and she gasped. “After all, it is your birthday. We want to make sure you have the full experience.  
  
She watched, mesmerized, as William lay himself on the bed, propping up on his elbows and kissing her inner thigh. Thomas’s finger kept its slow and light pace as his twin’s tongue teased the sensitive and cool flesh of her leg. She found herself gripping the satin sheets that lay under in her hands, quiet moans leaving her lips.  
  
William glanced up, sharing a look with his twin before smirking again. Lowering his head, he kissed her center while Thomas continued to part her lips. Her mouth fell open when his eyes met hers, before pressing his tongue to her, and flicking it.  
  
She, again, tried to buck her hips as best she could, but the brothers jointly held her still.

Thomas continued to tease her nipples as William set a pace with his tongue, long licks then short flicks over her swollen clit. It felt so good, so wonderful, so blissful and oh god she couldn’t have stopped her moans even if they ordered her to.  
  
“Yes, Christine darling, Christ look at the flush on your cheeks.” Thomas grabbed her chin roughly, turning her head to meet the same pair of blue eyes that was working between her legs. He kissed her without another word, forcing his tongue into her mouth at the exact same moment she became aware of William’s finger entering her.  
  
She was moaning into Thomas’s mouth and trying even still to move her hips, to fuck herself on William’s long and talented finger that he was dragging slowly out of her. He added another, and her jaw fell open at the sensation, his tongue never stopping throughout it all.  
  
Thomas licked the inside of her ear. “You’re going to come for my little brother, darling, you are.” The tongue picked up its pace on her clit, and William hummed in approval of his brother’s comment. “If you come for him, we’ll keep taking care of you. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”  
  
She nodded furiously. “Yes, god yes please, sir— yes!”

She suddenly felt my orgasm curling inside her, William’s fingers now brushing against her overly sensitive g-spot. This time, after so many tries, she was finally able to buck into his mouth, and he chuckled before placing his mouth back, this time beginning to suck.  
  
Her jaw slack as she watched him, Thomas gave her two fingers to occupy her mouth, and greedily began to suck.  
  
“Such a greedy little girl.” She felt rather than saw the smirk in his voice as she continued to watch William work her to her impending peak. He removed them after a moment before using them to pinch her nipple once more.  
  
William sucked harder, and she knew, she felt it; she wouldn’t hold out much longer.  
  
“Yes, fuck yes, p-please William, sirs, ye— FUCK!”  
  
It hit her harder than anything she’d experienced before, legs shaking as breath left her, leaving her consciousness hanging there, suspended in pleasure that not one, but two gorgeous and sexily talented men had so willing and eagerly given to her. What a fantastic birthday this was turning out to be.  
  
She came back down to Thomas’s lips on her shoulder and William smiling between her still spread thighs. She was panting, but after a moment, she smiled back at him.

“Very, very good, doll,” William said, rising to his knees and then leaning to kiss her quickly. She was able to taste a hint of herself on her lips when he pulled away a moment later. He looked over her naked body, flush from the very recent orgasm. “So very good.”  
  
Now her face blushed as Thomas finally released her. “Now darling, why don’t you get on your hands and knees?” He said, his twin sitting back on the bed. “I’d like to see just how wet he got you. And perhaps you should thank him for that wonderful orgasm, hm?”  
  
“Perhaps she should,” William answered, palming his stiff cock through the dress pants he still worse. He caught her gaze, making her body freeze while she adjusted the way Thomas told her to. His blue eyes darkened. “I want to see exactly what that sweet mouth can do.”  
  
Her heart sped, breath caught in her throat, but a quick slap to her ass made her find movement again. “You heard my brother, darling.” The tearing of foil behind her told her how fast she needed to move.

Quickly as she could, she positioned her body as told, her face now inches from William’s long, heavy cock. She heard herself whimper once at the sight just before Thomas’s hands possessively squeezed her hips, pulling himself towards her.

William’s hand grabbed her hair, giving her just enough time to open her lips before his cock slid past them, gliding along her tongue. She closed her eyes to savor it, knowing he was filling her mouth completely but only half his cock inside her, just as the head of Thomas’s cock teased her entrance, his pelvis against her ass.

“Yes, Christine,” William hissed, fingers tightening in her hair. “Fuck, yes…”

She wanted to smile at the praise, but then Thomas started to push the head in, and her breathing hitched. “Relax for me, baby, just relax,” he whispered, pushing in more cautiously. “But don’t you stop pleasuring my brother, darling.” He thrusted once, entering her, and she cried out and bobbed her head along William.

When he fully seated himself inside her, her arms nearly faltered at the pleasure as she licked the head of William’s cock in her mouth.

“That’s it, oh such a good girl.” Thomas gave a testing thrust, eliciting another whimper from her. “If you make my brother come, we’ll give you a nice birthday orgasm, yes?”

She tried to nod, William’s grip beginning to make her eyes water. She started sucking quicker, making him gasp, working him to the brink that would eventually bring hers.

“You’re quite good at that, doll, you like that?” He cooed down at her, his chin out as he watched her. “I can tell you do, god yes, you’re going to make me come like that. Oh!”

Thomas was driving harder into her, slapping against her ass with each move, his fingers now moving under her to find her clit, still sensitive from her last orgasm. “You heard him love, just a bit more and we’ll give you what you want. That’s it.”

William was biting his lip, his head tilted back slightly on his neck, both hands now wrapped tightly in Christine’s hair. For the second time that night, she felt the familiar coil of her climax tightening, working its way out with ease under Thomas’s fingers and cock. God, she felt so full, so blissful – what a way to start a year.

William suddenly stilled her head, a grunt exiting his lips at the moment she felt his cock twitch just before his come filled her mouth.

Thomas’s fingers changed paced immediately; she was barely able to swallow as she felt the bubbling orgasm come to light, making her arms quake. William pulled out of her, still holding her hair, as she went slack and and she cried out, “Oh fuck fuck FUCK!” at the product of Thomas’s ministrations. She nearly fell on the bed, Thomas still pounding away until she heard his expletives and grunts, and he stilled, himself finding his climax.

When he pulled out, she collapsed, breathing ragged, completely and utterly sated like she hadn’t been in years.

“Well,” one of them said.

“Was that a sufficient present, darling?”

Four hands ran all over her back and ass, and she squirmed. “It was, sirs.”

“Sweet girl.”

“We hope you’ve had a happy birthday so far.”

Happy happy birthday, indeed.


	4. Four Walls and Some Windows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas and William begin work on their new shared home. This one shot takes place directly after the ending of What’s Yours is Mine and spans the construction of the house.

## Four Walls and Some Windows

“No pools, William. Too much upkeep.”

“What about a hot tub?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh come on, you ever had hot tub sex?”

“That’s beside the point.”

William looked up from the hand drawn blueprints and rubbed his tired eyes. It was well after three in the morning and they were still discussing the house. He had already put in a call for the real estate agent he knew, leaving a message to find the perfect lot to build. Their latest share was still tucked in bed as they argued over the necessities. “Oh my god, you haven’t! Thomas, it’s the shit!”

Thomas sighed, taking a sip of his whiskey. “Fine fine, hot tub it is.”

“And of course my windows.” William grinned at the idea of his perfect windows looking out across their property. He couldn’t decide where yet they’d be located. Maybe make a few walls covered in-

“You’re not making every damn wall windows, William.” Thomas snatched the paper away from him, rolling his eyes and erasing the ridiculous amount of windows. “We might as well just live in a glass house.”

“The idea has merit, you have to admit.”

“No.”

“Really if you’d just think about it -”

“Do you know how many times those windows would have to be cleaned? I’m sure as hell not doing it, are you?”

William snickered but agreed to just the one side of the house be covered in his windows. It was better than nothing at least.

They worked through the night, going back and forth about what they needed, where everything would go. It was a brilliant idea, and neither knew why they hadn’t come up with this sooner. It would be like old times, days when things were happier and easier. Living together again. It felt right. Like they never should have parted. But they had the chance to fix that now, and they were going to take advantage of it.

As the morning light started trickling through the windows, William glanced up with blinking eyes. “It’s morning.”

“Obviously.” Thomas looked up from his phone where he was researching contractors.

William chuckled as he shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. He froze as he caught sight of the woman waltzing out of the bedroom, one of their forgotten shirts wrapped around her body.

“You’re both up early,” she pouted.

Thomas looked up, smirk on his face as he gently set his phone down. “I think it’s time to take a break, little brother.”

He couldn’t help but agree.

* * *

“I’m not sure if you’re on your way or not, but I’ll meet you in the office,” William left the message on Thomas’ phone as he climbed out of his car in front of the real estate offices. They were due to meet their agent and talk about possible building locations, and he had a feeling Thomas was going to be late for whatever reason.

Flashing a smile at the receptionist, she pointed in the direction of their agent’s office and he made his way down the hallway.

He shouldn’t have been surprised at all to find Thomas and the agent sprawled across the desk, stockings down around her ankle and skirt shoved up to her waist. Sighing, William leaned against the doorway as he perused the blushing agent. She was certainly a looker, silky blonde hair, a set of breasts he knew his brother would enjoy thoroughly. He couldn’t blame Thomas, really.

“I see you’re already here.”

“I generally am on time,” Thomas snickered as he continued his thrusts into the agent, hands gripping her hips as he brought them both to climax.

William watched as a flush settled across her chest as she threw her head back, letting out a muffled whine as she came. He loved watching them when they fell apart, the pleasure erupting inside of them. The euphoric look on her face was enough to make his pants tight and uncomfortable.

Coughing and trying to adjust himself, William waited until Thomas was zipped back up. “Were you at least productive in your early arrival?”

“Aren’t I always?”

* * *

“I’ve had this land as one of my listings for months.” The real estate agent wet her lips for the fifth time since arriving at the site. Thomas continued to throw her his charming smiles, causing William to roll his eyes at the spectacle. His brother just shrugged, and he was sure Thomas just couldn’t help himself. “I thought of it the moment you left your message. I think it will be perfect for what you’re looking for.”

As distracted as she was only half an hour ago, William had to agree that it was the perfect location for the house. It was close to the city, but with enough land that they could keep to themselves. Thomas wanted security, considering his line of work, and William had to agree. And the view. God, he couldn’t wait to enjoy a good fuck against his new windows overlooking that view.

“What do you think, little brother?” Thomas looked around, taking everything in with his critical eye. “We’ll have to rework some of the landscape, but I think it could do. The drive to work shouldn’t be too much of a hassle. Might even be able to land the helicopter behind where the house would go.”

That had the agent stopping in her rambling about the prospects about the land. “Helicopter?”

There was that smile again. William had to stifle a snort and turn away as he listened to his brother. “I’ll just have to take you up on it sometime, darling.”

Giggling followed and all William could do was shake his head. Unbelievable.

“So what do you really think?” Thomas stepped away from the woman and to his side.

“Honestly? I think it’s perfect,” William admitted. “But it is the first property. Maybe we should keep looking.”

“What’s the point? You like it, I like it. Live a little and just go for it.”

“I’m building a house with you, aren’t you?” William’s lips twitched into a smirk. “I think I’m taking enough of a risk.”

“Hilarious, William. Hilarious,” Thomas snickered. “Shall we sign the paperwork then?”

* * *

William observed the work happening around him. After finding the perfect contractor and purchasing the land, they were able to start right away on the house. Dozens of men moved around him as the framework went up. He could already imagine the finished product. And his windows…

Frowning, William moved closer to where the windows would be put in. “No, no absolutely not.” He shook his head in disapproval.

They were nothing like his drawings. The windows were meant to span the entire one wall, floor to ceiling. The frames in place were hardly large enough for his plans.

“What’s the problem?” Thomas wandered over, eyebrow raised as he took in his brother’s frown.

“The windows, they’re all wrong.”

Thomas inspected the wall. “They look like they’ll be big enough to me.”

“Are you sure I’m the one who needs glasses?” William huffs. “They’re supposed to be floor to ceiling. These will be tiny in comparison.”

“By inches,” Thomas snorted. “Really, William, we need to work on this obsession of yours.”

“Should we talk about what you did the other night then?”

Thomas smirked. “You have a point, brother. Just don’t shoot the contractor, all right? He’s on high demand and I’d like to move in here sooner rather than later.”

“I’m just going to have a civil conversation,” William insisted. “I’m not barbaric like some people are.”

“And you left your gun in the car.”

“I saw no need to take it out.”

Rolling his eyes, Thomas claps him on the back. “Come on now, little brother, they’re just windows. Any bigger and we might as well just have a giant hole in the wall.”

William glares at him. “We don’t need the four poster bed then.”

“Now hang on a moment!”

“If you excuse me, I have someone to talk to about my windows.”

* * *

“Oh wow, the view is spectacular!”

“Mhmm.” William pulled the brunette back against his chest and tugging her head to the side. He nipped along her neck down to her shoulder before following the same path back to her earlobe.

“Oh!” she moaned, wiggling against his erection. “Please.”

“Do you want me to fuck you, darling?” His hand ran down her thigh to the hem of her shirt skin, his fingers sliding along the smooth skin. “Do you want me to make you come?”

“Please,” she whimpered.

Drawing her forward, he placed her in front of the newly installed windows. The framing had been fixed, his floor to ceiling windows in place overlooking the view. With the sun just setting, it was the perfect time to try them out.

Turning her around by the hips, he braced her back against the pristine glass. A quick kiss on her lips, and he fell to his knees before her. His hands slid up and down each leg, growing closer to the hem of the skirt, and then her panties, with every pass. She moaned and bucked her hips, but he never sped up, taking his time until he finally dragged a finger across the wet material.

“Oh you’re all ready for me, aren’t you?” William licked his lips, gazing up at her. Her head was thrown back, leaning against the window as his fingers hooked around the panties and tugged them down and over her feet. “Let’s see what we have here.”

Spreading open her lips, William grinned at how wet she was. Shuffling forward, he flicked his tongue across her clit, chuckling when she gasped and jumped. He took hold of both her thighs as he held her legs open to him, keeping her in place as his tongue explored. Her whimpers and moans grew louder with every pass of the swollen bud. Spearing his tongue passed her entrance, her hands dug in his hair, nails digging into his scalp.

“Oh god, oh god please!” she begged.

“So sweet. So fucking sweet.” He thrust his tongue in and out, moving a thumb up to rub her clit in quick motions. “Are you ready to come, baby?”

“Please, William!” She was shaking against the glass.

Sucking her clit between his lips, she fell apart. She shuddered against the windows as William never relented, staring up at her as the flush ran down her body.

“That’s it, doll.” He caressed her thighs as he gave lazy licks. “So perfect.”

As she sagged against the windows, William slowly slid up her body and looped an arm around her waist to keep her upright.

“Are you ready for me to fuck you now?”

She couldn’t even speak, just whimper and nod as her hands came up to his shoulder and squeezed. Smirking, William unbuckled his slacks and shoved them to the floor as he rolled a condom over his aching cock. With ease he lifted her until her legs wrapped around his waist, and with her back pressed against the glass, his tip entered her swiftly.

“Fuck!” she clawed at his shoulders.

“God, you’re so ready for me, aren’t you?” A thrust of his hips and he was in further. “Hold on, baby.”

He seated himself inside her with one last thrust and she screamed. Remaining still for only a moment, he slid back out, only to thrust his length back inside of her. The sounds of her body against the windows, the gasps and screams from her lips, William knew it wouldn’t be long until he came. Looking over her shoulder, he watching the sun set as his pace picked up. Turning his head into her neck, he tugged on her hair and nipped her shoulder.

“Oh god, I’m coming!”

“That’s it, baby. Come for me. Just a little bit more.”

Reaching between them, William flicked her clit only a handful of times before she was coming around him. Grunting, he followed close behind.

“Well, that was a performance.”

The brunette yelped in surprise at the second voice. William just sighed, shaking his head as he pulled back enough to look over his shoulder at his brother. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“The alarm went off. Seems someone forgot to turn it off.” Thomas smirked. “Trying out the new windows, I see. I do hope you were planning on cleaning them.”

Rolling his eyes, William slowly separated from the girl. Getting a better look at the visitor, her eyes grew wide. “There’s two of you?”

Chuckling, Thomas strode over. “Oh yes, darling. And we’re even better together.”

* * *

“Damn, it looks good,” William mused, looking over the finished house. Most of the furniture would be arriving soon, though the appliances in his custom kitchen were already in place and ready to be used. The walls were painted, the fireplaces were ready to warm up the house. Even his windows were pristine after he broke them in. The good handful of times, that is.

“Sir?”

“Hm?” William turned to one of the movers.

“The custom bed, where should we put it?” he motioned to the mattress and frame ready to enter the house.

“Up the stairs, first bedroom on the right.” William couldn’t help but grin as he watched the set being lifted into it’s new home. Thomas had been right with the choice in bed for when they shared, and would fit into the overlarge bedroom perfectly. Looking around in search of his brother, knowing he’d want to take a look at his new baby, William frowned when he couldn’t find him. “Where the hell did you go now?”

He found him in Thomas’ new office, leaning back in the already situated leather chair. His hand clutched something beneath the large desk, and William groaned as he only guessed what he’d find.

“Really, Thomas?” William stepped into the room. “There are a dozen movers about. Not to mention our interior decorator.”

A woman’s yelp and a head hitting the underside of the table made William’s eyebrow raise. Oh fantastic.

“Never mind, I suppose we don’t have to worry about our designer after all.”

Thomas just grinned. “What?”

“We hired her. You can’t sleep with everyone we hire.”

“Are you absolutely sure about that?” Thomas swore under his breath. “Jesus, darling.”

“Unbelievable.” William shook his head. “Well at least hurry up. Your beloved four poster bed is here.”

Thomas’ eyes lit up. “Oh good, I was afraid it wouldn’t arrive on time. Fucking hell!”

“Just hurry up and get your ass out here.”

“Don’t be so grumpy, little brother. I haven’t even told you my idea yet.”

“Do I even want to know?”

“Two words, brother. Housewarming. Orgy.”

William paused, considering the suggestion. “I suppose it wouldn’t be a terrible idea.”

“That’s what I thought.”


	5. The Price of Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moira Courtney is the top financial mind of Thomas Hiddleston’s drug cartel, but when a dark piece of her past catches up with her new life, the twins know they have they have to step up to help her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Domestic abuse mentions, descriptions of violence, and language.

## The Price of Protection

Despite working for an international drug cartel, Moira Courtney remembered only being scared three times in her life.

The first had been the moment she felt the blinding, indescribable pain in her leg after Brennan pushed her down the two flights of stairs from their flat to the ground.

The second had been when her pregnancy test came back positive.

The third had come just now, when a number she didn’t recognize texted her a photo of her own front door, with a message reading, “Is this home sweet home now?”

Brennan had found her.

After nearly two years erasing her old life, keeping sure to maintain a low profile, and telling people that Izzy’s father was dead, all the fears she had struggled to keep at bay now bubbled back to the surface.

She dropped the phone onto her desk as if it had burned her; in a way it had, that small object so easily betraying her and all her secrets. Her heart pounded like a drum in her ears, threatening to pop out of her chest.

Izzy wasn’t there, thank Heaven, but on a playdate with another girl from church. The idea that Brennan was so close to where Izzy slept, lived, played with her teddy, where Moira carried her around when she cried…

Her vision went blurry, the surroundings of Browning’s office fading around her while her mind raced.

She couldn’t stay here. He may have found out where she worked by now, or even where Izzy was. She couldn’t underestimate him or the lengths he’d go to to try and find her. She had tried running once, to join a travelling dance group without his knowing, but when he had found the email for the plane ticket, he made sure she could never dance again.

She hated to think that she let herself believe she had maybe been safe for those two years, that she had stopped looking over she shoulder so many times.

All she had wanted was for Izzy to know happiness, away from him.

Moira stood, her legs shaky under her. She had to get Izzy, take her away, get her head on straight and make a new plan.

Brennan would never set his eyes on Izzy if she had a say in it.

She grabbed her handbag, throwing the phone in it with a shaking hand. A worker across the office looked up from his calculations with a quizzical look, but she held up her head and made her way to Thomas’s office.

She didn’t even both knocking on the large doors, the men guarding it today knowing her well, but even if they hadn’t, they couldn’t have stopped her.

Thomas sat with a smile, feet propped up on the massive desk with a takeaway box in his lap.

William sat on the opposite side of the desk, sharing an identical smile, and Moira guessed they had to have shared a mutual joke just moments before she barged in. Though she had only met her boss’s twin a handful of times, mostly to compare business numbers, she liked him a great deal, and considered him more a friend than anything else.

“Moira darling,” Thomas said, food still in his mouth. “You off to lunch?”

“Y-yes,” she said, though her voice was far more unsteady than she would have preferred. “I just remembered that, uh, Izzy’s got an appointment this afternoon, could I -”

“‘Course darling, not a problem.” Thomas smiled as he took another bite of his lunch.

She sighed a breathe of relief, knowing she had at least a day’s head start before Thomas sent a man or two to find her when she didn’t return. Running from two people was going to be harder, but Brennan was more important to get away from.

She was going to miss him, miss the office, miss the work. This place that had saved her from the streets, pregnant and still on the run in an unfamiliar city. Thomas, who had given her a chance despite the nature of his work. Who cared for her and always made sure Izzy was welcome in the office when Moira had no other place to take her.

“You alright, Moira?” Thomas asked, his plastic fork stopped mid-air. She hadn’t realized how long she stood there without saying anything.

Quickly, she nodded. “Just… tired is all.”

Thomas’s brows furrowed. “Alright. Tell Izzy hello from me, will you?”

“And from me,” added William, who had taken a liking to the toddler the last time she had accompanied Moira to the office.

She fought to keep her lip from quivering when she smiled. “Sure. I will.”

* * *

Thomas pinched the bridge of his nose and closed the window on his desktop computer. Who the fuck had done that report? It had been a while since he’d last helped with the finances, he admitted to himself, but everything on the document he’d been sent was just so glaringly… wrong.

He picked up the phone on his desk and hit a few numbers, the dial tone only sounding once before the other end picked up.

“I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to be looking at, but I know damn well it’s not what I asked for. Send someone in here who knows what the fuck they’re doing, why don’t you?”

He ended the call to the finance office without waiting for a response, already aggravated that one of his new shipments was late. How long did it take things to come from Columbia?

There was a tentative knock on his door a moment later and in entered a young man with glasses too big for his face. Someone Bishop had brought in, both too gullible and too scared to try and ask questions.

“Macey, what are you doing here?” Thomas sighed, now even more annoyed than he had been a few minutes ago.

“You, you said you needed someone who knew what they were doing,” Macey managed out, trying not to shake where he stood.

Thomas rolled his eyes. “I know that. Jesus. Where’s Moira, Macey? She’s usually who I mean when I ask for that.”

Macey’s brows met and he shifted his weight. “She hasn’t been in for about three days, sir.”

Thomas sat up straight in his chair, suddenly very interested in what this young man had to say. “What?”

“Moira left around lunch on Tuesday and hasn’t come in since.” Macey seemed even more scared with Thomas intently hanging on his words.

Gritting his teeth, Thomas said, “And no one thought to tell me?”

“We just, just assumed she’s gone on holiday,” Macey replied with a quiet voice.

Standing, Thomas, snatched his phone off his desk, ignoring the fact that his heart was now beating faster. His employees didn’t simply not come in, or take off on holiday without consulting him.

“Bishop, Moira’s file. Now.” He barked the words at the receiver before hanging up and dialing another number. “William, I need you to come in.”

“What, Thomas, I’m busy.” His twin sounded annoyed, frustrated.

“Tell Amanda to stop sucking you off and get over here.”

“She is not - Jesus, Thomas what is it?”

Bishop entered the room then, confused by both Macey’s presence and the expression on Thomas’s features.

He took a breath before saying, “Moira’s missing.”

A long pause. “She - fuck, what in - where’s Izzy?” William sounded immediately more alert.

“Get over here and help us find out.” He slammed the phone down, not caring about William’s response but knowing he would arrive soon. “Bishop, give me that.”

The tall man in question stood very still, clutching the manilla folder and his iPad with an iron grip. “What did you just say?” His voice was clipped and level, though Thomas knew that was the last thing Bishop was feeling.

Macey spoke up. “Moira hasn’t been in since Tuesday.” He couldn’t bring himself to look in the eyes of the man towering over him.

Thomas swallowed. “Her address, in the file, give it to me. And the name of Izzy’s child care, I made her put it in there when she came off maternity leave.”

Blinking, Bishop wordlessly handed over the folder with a steely look.

They had to find her.

* * *

Moira’s front door was fairly easy to pick after several attempts of knocking proved fruitless. Nothing was out of place in the tiny rooms, food still in the cabinets and Izzy’s high chair still sitting the table with only one chair.

“It doesn’t look like there was a struggle,” William called from one of the rooms.

Thomas opened the closet door in Moira’s bedroom. “But there’s a chunk of clothes missing from here.” He cast his gaze down. “And hardly any shoes.”

William appeared in the doorway. “Shoes?”

Thomas pointed. “She’s either taken a good amount, or she hardly had any to begin with.”

“How do you know how many shoes a woman should have?”

“Well, Amanda’s closet is -”

“Nevermind, nevermind,” William sighed, looking around the quiet room. “She can’t have just… disappeared. With a toddler, no less.” He sat on the unmade bed, running a hand through his hair. “Do you think someone was threatening her?”

“None of my rivals are aware of the office workers of my establishment,” Thomas said, turning away from the closet and opening a drawer. A few socks and a bra lay in the nearly empty space. “Some of them don’t even know what they’re working for. Moira figured it out early on.”

“Fuck. Should we call the police?”

“There’s no signs of a struggle. No evidence that she was taken against her will. She’s an adult, a mother, with free will.” Thomas sat beside his brother and groaned. “They’d tell us to mind our own business.”

William groaned too. “Then let’s find her. Has she got any family? Can you track her cards or something?”

“If she had family she never mentioned them. Izzy was always at child care, with friends, or at the office. Family would have offered to help watch her. I always got the feeling she was alone in the city.”

“She had you.”

Thomas shook his head, tugging on his hair. “You’re right. We’re the only ones who can find her.”

* * *

Operations within the cartel came to a glaringly halt when Thomas announced that one of their own was missing. His empire was a business first, but a family second. One that looked out for their own more than anything else.

He set a group to track her credit cards, another to seek out any family she may have gone to. William suggested searching security cameras at King’s Cross or St. Pancras, but that had only earned a “Who the fuck do you think we are, the Met?” from an on-edge Bishop.

It was two days until Bishop ran into Thomas’s office with his iPad already set up. “Got her.”

Excitedly, he held up the device to play up a grainy black and white video. It was Moira, unmistakably, with her small nose and fair hair peaking out from the hood she had over her head. A sleeping girl on her shoulder solidified it, even with the limited hues one could tell they shared the exact same hair color.

“Cash machine?” Thomas asked, guessing by the angle of the camera.

“Late last night. We got the hit off one of her cards,” Bishop said in a hurried voice, “so I spent all morning hacking into the camera. So I could be certain.”

Thomas raised his eyebrows at his statement, impressed with his right-hand man’s diligence. “Where?”

“Birmingham.”

He, William, and Bishop were on a train within two hours.

It was William’s idea to search for hotels around the cash machine where she had been the night before, knowing without a car that she couldn’t have gone very far. It was only a matter of finding her.

It took two places, some heavy persuading, and one hundred pounds cash before they had a room number.

Bishop put his hand to where his gun was holstered to his waist as they approached the door, making William roll his eyes. “We know she’s here on her own will, what good will a gun do?”

Bishop glared at him. “You never assume anything in this line of work.”

“Ladies, please,” Thomas whispered, coming to a half in front door 214. “Let me just knock first, alright?”

They quieted, straightening their backs.

Thomas took a deep breath, still unsure what he may find in the room, or if he was now out a hundred pounds. He raised his fist to the door and rapped his knuckles on the surface.

Seconds passed, with no sound from behind the door. Bishop shifted anxiously on his feet, glancing around the halls.

An indistinct scraping of metal from the other side of the door reached their ears, Thomas’s breath hitching in his throat. The knob started to turn before a small crack between the door and the frame was created.

“Thomas, what the fuck are you doing here?” Moira was whispering excitedly, hardly half her face visible in the light. Her usually full cheeks looked sunken, brown eyes once warm now red and tired.

Thomas tried to smirk, hiding his worry and concern. “You should know I couldn’t let you just take off, Moira darling.”

She stood perfectly still, the one visible eye flickering over to William and Bishop. Her breathing was staggered, her hand gripping the door with white knuckles. “You can’t be here.”

He raised his head, taking a half step to the door. “Moira, you need to tell us what’s going on.” She opened the door a fraction more. “Is Izzy okay?”

She turned her head back inside for a split second. “She’s fine. Thomas, please, I can’t -”

“Moira.” Bishop’s deep voice startled the three others, Thomas whipping his head around to see him. His eyebrows were furrowed with a deep set concentration. “Moira, are you okay?”

There was a long pause as the mens’ eyes went back to her, only to find tears streaking down her cheek. “N-no,” she choked out. “No, I-I’m not.”

Thomas put his hand on the door, pushing it open as Moira released her grip. “Darling, we’ll help you, whatever it is. Trust us.”

A tear fell on her lip as she finally nodded, allowing Thomas access for the three men to follow her inside.

“Moira, is that a knife?” William pointed out quietly as she shut the door.

She looked down at her hand as if realizing for the first time the weapon she held within it. “Y-yes. Protection,” she managed out, gaze not leaving the knife.

William gingerly put a hand on her arm, leading her away from the door. “Come on love. It’s just us. You don’t need that. Talk to us.” He led her, shaking, to the small bed where Thomas already sat. Bishop stood next to the playpen, where a sleeping Izzy was cuddled under a blanket.

She set the knife on the bedside table before Thomas took her under his arm, running his hand up and down her arm to comfort her. “Moira, you’re two hours from home in a nameless hotel, opening the door with a knife in your hand.” He brushed her hair away as her breathing slowed. “Who’s after you? Is it the Russians? I’ve been having some personal issues with them as of late. We just need to know, so that we can protect you.”

For a few minutes there was only the sound of her sniffles as she collected herself. “B-Brennan. Brennan Donahue.”

William tried to meet her downcast eyes. “And who’s Brennan?” he asked softly.

“Izzy’s father,” she admitted, nearly choking out the last word, more tears rushing down her face. “My ex-boyfriend.” She put her hand up to her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut. “He f-found our house, t-texted me, we had to, to leave, I couldn’t face h-him again.”

The twins gazes met, a silent understanding passing through them. “Did he hurt you, Moira?” Thomas almost whispered in the quiet air.

He felt her nod against his shoulder, burying her face into the fabric of his jacket.

“Shit,” Bishop hissed out, shoving his hands in his pockets.

William put a hand on her thigh. “When was the last time you saw him?”

“Two, two years ago,” Moira sighed, sniffing and collecting herself to answer their questions. “When I was pregnant with Izzy.”

“You didn’t want Izzy to know him,” William observed.

“No, she could never know him, what a fucking m-monster he was.” She shut her eyes again and shook her head. “Is. He still is a monster. Four years I spent trapped, each day worse than, than the last. I couldn’t have my baby going through that too.” Her chin quivered as she raised her head. “I’d do anything for her.”

“Including starting all over again,” Bishop said, making them all turn to him.

“You’re so strong, Moira,” William said. “So strong and so brave.”

“But I can only run,” she pointed out, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand.

William shook his head and sighed. “Sweetheart, you answered the door with a knife in your hand. I think that shows your abilities.”

Izzy rolled in her makeshift bed, yawning and wiping her eyes.

“Oh, god, Izzy,” Moira murmured and stood to get her as the toddler’s eyes opened.

Izzy’s green eyes opened to an awkwardly staring Bishop, but a smile formed on her sleepy face. “Bissop!”

Moira bit her lip as she reached down to pick her, setting her on her hip while she rubbed at her face a bit more. “Did you have a good nap, baby?”

“Mumma, can I see Bissop?”

“Not right -”

“Sure,” interjected Bishop, quickly holding out his hands to relieve Moira.

Moira’s expression flashed between grateful and apologetic. “No, you don’t have to…”

“I want to, don’t worry,” he said before taking the giggly girl from her arms without a second word. “I’ve got her.”

Izzy was instantly talkative as she laid her head on his shoulder. “Bissop, Mumma and I are on adventure. She said we can go to the beach!”

“Did she now?” There was as close to a smile as could form on Bishop’s lips, Izzy’s baby babble bringing a light to the room that hadn’t been there a minute before.

Moira turned back to Thomas, tugging at the end of her hair. “Sorry.”

“I’ve told you, you never have to apologize for Izzy.” He got on his feet to face her, though he stood a full head taller than her. “You know you had the option of me to come to.”

“I couldn’t ask that of you, this is my problem, my family.”

“And you are my family.” He tipped her chin up to meet his gaze. “Every bit as William, or Bishop, or even Preston or whoever else in those offices you can think of. If anyone ever, ever needed help, I wouldn’t waste a second to help them.”

“Especially if it involves shit bags like Brennan,” William added, but at Moira’s wide eyes and side glance at Izzy, he quickly corrected, “dirt bags, sorry.”

“Let us help you,” Thomas insisted. “We’ll find him. Keep you and Izzy safe, and him far, far away.”

“Like six feet in the ground,” Bishop countered as Izzy felt the stubble on his cheeks.

Thomas chuckled. “You know better than most the resources we have, Moira.”

“You’re right,” she said, a faint smile pulling at her lips. “I get all your receipts.”

“So what’s the hold up?”

Her mouth went slightly agape, searching for the right words. “Will you promise we can stay somewhere safe?” she finally asked, voice back to whisper-level.

“I swear on my life.”

* * *

When Thomas explained the situation, that one of his employees and her child were on the run from her abusive ex, Amanda was more than eager to accept Moira and Izzy into her flat for as long as they needed to hide out. She even asked if she needed to buy anything Moira hadn’t been able to grab from her house, like a high chair or more clothes.

Thomas knew she was a pure soul, but watching her welcome Moira and Izzy with hugs and a home cooked meal prepared for them, he was starting to think she was far too good for this world.

Upon returning to London, Bishop was quick to discover everyone one could possibly know about Brennan Donahue. A contractor, arrested seven years prior on an aggravated assault from a bar fight, and three instances in which the police were called to his and Moira’s home after reports from neighbors. There had been an investigation only once, when Moira had broken her leg in three places after tumbling down two flights of stairs. But her insistence that she had simply lost her footing brought it to a halt.

Essentially, as William eloquently put it, “a fucking piece of shit.”

They easily tracked his credit cards to a lowly hotel near Moira’s home, and one purchase at a restaurant just down the street from Thomas’s office. It was a good thing she had gotten out when she did, because Thomas didn’t doubt that Brennan may have tried to enter his office to get to her.

He and William took Bishop and four men to extract him, easy enough to do when five guns were pointed at his head, though he tried to put up a fight.

“The fuck are you!” He screamed when Christian kicked in the door, revealing a room in disarray and printed, blurry candid pictures of Moira and Izzy plastered onto a wall.

Bishop wasted no time in strutting right up to him and delivering a solid right hook to his jaw, blood spraying onto the floor.

A gag in his mouth, handcuffs, and a swift punch to the gut got him into one of the cars fairly quickly, and to Thomas’s warehouses within an hour.

Adequately tied up and a few preliminary punches out of the way, William and his gun locked and loaded at his left, Thomas began his questions.

“You like hurting women, Donahue?” he said, flipping one of his butterfly knife as he paced.

“Fuck you,” Brennan spat, lips split and bloody.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he sighed. “You know, I put up with a lot of detestable and disgusting shit, being a drug lord and all, but hurting innocent women… That’s something I’ve never quite seen the pleasure in. Have you, William?”

William grimaced. “Can’t say I have.”

“Not many people do,” Thomas pressed on, “but those who do, they’re a certain parasite I want wiped from the face of the earth.” He flipped his knife to point at Brennan’s face. “Especially when they hurt women I care about.”

Brennan sneered and growled, “She’s a sodding whore, and she stole my baby.”

“See, I’m not one to agree with the validity of that statement.” He started pacing behind the chair, still flipping. “Moira is probably the strongest woman I have ever met. Besides my mother of course.”

“You don’t know her like I do.” He eyed William as Thomas stepped out of his view. “I loved her.”

“I’m sure in your own sick way, you did.” He pressed the blade to the side of Brennan’s neck. “Like in my own sick way, I’ll enjoy hurting you.”

“She. Is. Mine!!” He screamed, veins bulging out as sweat and blood dripped from his forehead. “And that baby is mine! They belong to me!”

Thomas leaned down to his ear. “No, they don’t. They are better without you. And you will never see them again, for as long as you live.”

“Bishop was eager to just kill you,” William butted in. “But we figured you wouldn’t learn you lesson that way.”

“L-Lesson?”

“That’s right,” said Thomas, slowly moving the knife from Brennan’s neck, to shoulder, down his exposed arm, until the tip of the blade rested on his hand. “We’re going to take away your choice of weapon.” The edge of the blade found the knuckle of his middle finger. “You can’t very well make a fist if you’ve got no fingers, can you?”

* * *

“There’s no reason to give me a raise, sir.”

“Moira, if I had known sooner, then this is the sum of what I would have paid you with a higher wage.”

“I can’t take this,” Moira insisted, trying to push the check back into Thomas’s hand.

“You can, no arguments.” Thomas smiled up at her from his desk. “Think of it as Izzy’s university fund.”

“Izzy’s two!”

“It’s never too early to start.”

She smiled, the first real smile Thomas thought he had ever seen on her, truly free from the worry that had plagued her for two years, and the terrors she had endured for four.

She tucked a hair behind her ear. “I, I wanted to thank you -”

“No, you have thanked me enough, Moira darling.” He stood, coming to stand beside her. “Trust me, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

“I know.” She looked her boss up and down with a hesitant look before wrapping her arms around him in a hug. “Just, thank you,” she whispered into his chest.

Normally, Thomas would have immediately pulled away, but this made him smirk as he patted her fair-haired head. “Anytime, Moira darling.”


	6. Just Over Four Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four years ago, William proposed to his girlfriend, Jocelyn, and hoped to start their life together, white picket fence and 2.5 kids. But his world was rocked when he discovered Jocelyn having an affair, and he kicked her out of his life. He hasn’t seen her in ages, but when he unexpectedly runs into her, she’s got more than he bargained for.

## Just Over Four Years

One of William’s favorite things to do during lunch, other than grab a bite with Thomas if time permitted, was wander book shops. Being surrounded by the words, the stories, and quiet tranquility of the shelves, allowed him to clear his head in ways that booze, sex, a gun, could never accomplish. Sometimes he missed the days where he spent nights pouring over the reading for a class, writing two essays with a different interpretation or argument in each.

He preferred small, second hand shops, with the cracks and weathered spines reading out their titles, the yellowing pages touched by however many hands, the idea that the stories had passed through so many owners… but sometimes he enjoyed the shiny and new of big retailers, like where he was today.

A fresh tea in hand, he strode through the shelves toward the mysteries, his guilty pleasure genre, taking a tentative sip and running his fingers over a few smooth spines.

He paused on a few, picking them up and glancing over their back covers with half interest, waiting for something to catch his eye. He wasn’t looking for something in particular, just something to sit with for an hour or so while he nursed his tea.

He’d just paused to read the first few pages of a novel when something rammed into his leg with an “Oof!”

Balancing his tea so not to spill on his suit, he quickly turned to find whatever had hit his calf. But he was met with a pair of eyes staring up at him out from under bright blonde hair.

William crouched down, surprised to see that the offender was just a young boy, no more than four, now sitting on the floor. He seemed just as shocked as William did that something had come in his way.

William smiled at the boys’ wide eyes and open mouth. “Hey little man,” he said, casually looking around for someone who could be his parent. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

The boy remained silent, studying the older man with wonder.

“Alright then,” he pressed on, holding back a chuckle. “What’s your name?”

Still nothing. Just one blink from green eyes.

A shrill, female voice sounded from behind the shelf. “Maxwell!”

That made the boy turn, his head whipping around and hair flying as he tried to locate the source of the voice.

William raised an eyebrow. “That your mum?”

This time he responded mutely, nodding furiously with even wider eyes.

“Maxwell!” The voice called again, closer this time.

The boy got to his feet in a flash, looking almost ready to bolt again, but William caught him with his free arm before he could escape. “Oh no you don’t, no more running.”

“Maxwell! Max –” The voice’s owner finally came around the shelf, the worry that was missing from her tone evident on her face. “Oh, Max, there you –”

William turned his head from the toddler to the woman, lifting his head to meet her eyes.

Green eyes that he’d loved for over two years of his life, that had been his rock, his solace after stressful days, that had pained him to see cry, and ultimately the eyes which had betrayed all he had of his trust.

“…are.”

Her lip quivered and she staggered back, momentarily forgetting the boy she’d been in search of. “W-William.”

He swallowed, a bitter taste filling his mouth and throat. “Jocelyn.”

His ex-fiance looked even better than when he had last seen her, an electric blue dress hugging her every curve, golden eyeshadow making those damn eyes pop. Her sleek, dark hair was longer than William remembered, gold hoop earring poking out from the waves of it.

And on her left hand, a ring twice the size that William had given her on his knee as they reached the top of the London Eye on New Year’s Eve. Nearly five years felt like an age ago now.

“I, um, I,” she stammered, gaze flickering between him and the boy. “Max, come here darling.”

Max squirmed in William’s grip, eager to sprint away from Jocelyn.

William could hardly blame him.

“Maxwell, I am not kidding,” she said sternly, trying her hardest to avoid her ex’s scrutiny.

Sighing, he wrapped both arms around the energetic Max and scooped him up, legs kicking into his chest like he was already running. With a reluctance so strong it made his legs heavy, he brought him over to Jocelyn’s waiting arms.

“Thank you.” Her voice, though still shrill, was much quieter as she took him.

“Yeah.” He couldn’t stop looking at her, even though he wanted nothing more than to walk away without a second word. He remembered every inch of her features, but she seemed such a stranger to him now. He realized the day she’d confessed to the affair that he hadn’t known her at all. The image he’d built up of her over two years, the fantasy he’d concocted of their life together, had been just that: fantasy.

He couldn’t quite place the emotions racing through his head. Something less than disgust, but far from pity – a sort of “what could have been” scenario that he hadn’t allowed to ever enter his mind, slowly but surely fighting to crawl its way in.

What was he supposed to do? To say? He had kicked her out of their flat along with her things without a second glance back, told her to go to hell, and fired the son of a bitch employee of his that she’d been fucking in their own bed.

A “how have you been?” probably wasn’t the best opener.

“William…” she said again, her perfectly trimmed eyebrows meeting to make a worry line in between. He doubted she would like that very much. “How, how are –”

There it was.

“Fine, fine,” he said hurriedly, wondering if he could simply walk away and forget this ever happened. The awkwardness was palpable, thickening the air and his lungs.

Silence hung over them and she nodded, shifting her feet.

William nodded at Max, legs now still. “Is he, is he yours?”

That seemed to remind Jocelyn of the toddler in her arms, and she brushed the hair out of his face with a manicured hand. “Um, yeah, this is Max. He’s three. And, a… a half. Yeah.”

Three and a half. Plus nine months. Just over four years.

He felt lightheaded, the already thick air almost suffocating him. Just over four years. Before he had discovered her lies. When they were still planning. During the days she had spent afternoons picking out flowers and cake options with her mother.

That bright blonde hair on Max’s head was suddenly sickeningly familiar, the same shade that one could find on identical heads on the surviving photos of Thomas and William as children, tucked away in a hidden scrapbook at their mother’s home.

William couldn’t find words, his focus solely on the young boy whose attention was elsewhere. Jocelyn’s son. Conceived just over four years ago.

Another man came around the shelf where Jocelyn had been calling from, the same expression of worry on his face that had been on her’s.

If William’s world hadn’t been spinning before, seeing Jocelyn’s lover appear surely wasn’t helping it stop.

“Oh, good, you found –” And just as Jocelyn did, he found William’s eyes. “William?”

“Priestley.” William felt his hand shake at his side though weary for the cup of tea still in his grip. He took in the man’s brown hair - just a shade lighter than Jocelyn’s - and grey eyes, looking exactly the same as he had in the photographs that had made William confront Jocelyn in the first place. He wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to punch him in the face, or grab him by the throat.

“Max ran into him, Zac,” Jocelyn spoke up, clearly sensing William’s growing animosity and standing between the two men.

“Yeah,” William said. “He’s… sweet.”

“Uh huh,” mumbled Priestley, wrapping a hand around his wife’s waist. “Thanks.” It obviously pained him to say the word.

“Don’t mention it.” Ever. He had to get out of there, clear his head, get to Thomas. Thomas would know what to do.

Priestley pulled at Jocelyn. “Let’s go, Joce.”

Joce. William used to call her that when she was upset.

“Yeah, okay.” She held Max tighter and gave William a final once-over. “I, I… Bye, William.”

“Yeah.” A lump formed in his throat at her tight smile, but his head didn’t clear even after they had gone out of sight.

* * *

Her Facebook was littered with pictures of Max.

William had never given into the curiosity of checking on her before, knowing it would pick at wounds he hadn’t touched in years. But now it was necessary, he needed more information, to see this boy carefully.

He had wanted her gone from his life, to the point where he had cut off contact with their mutuals friends. All he had known was that she had married Priestley only a month after their break up, but after that, whatever happened in Jocelyn’s life, he had tried his damnedest to be oblivious to.

He didn’t know what to do. The timeline undeniably added up. The boy’s hair was blonde, and some of the pictures he found of Max from his first birthday showed a great deal of curl to it. Max looked nothing like Zac Priestley, but he had Jocelyn’s eyes.

When they talked about having kids, he had told her he hoped they had her green eyes. She had blushed at that.

If he was William’s, he wanted to believe that she would have told him, if only just to pull the “I’m pregnant” card when he confronted her. Even she didn’t have the heart to keep his own child from him. But then again, she had done things he thought her incapable of. He couldn’t be sure. He couldn’t be sure of anything now.

With a few clicks of his mouse, he printed one of the more recent pictures out to take to Thomas. He had no one else to turn to. He needed his brother.

He found his twin lounging on their sofa with his feet propped on the armrest, phone to his ear.

Thomas barely had to look at William to tell there was something heavy weighing on his mind. “Don, we’ll talk later,” he spoke into his phone before ending the call with this thumb.

He sat up and tossed the device onto the nearby ottoman. “What’s the trouble, brother?”

William suddenly found his mouth very dry as he licked his lips, unable to form the correct words. All he could do was calmly, more calmly than he felt internally, set the paper on the coffee table.

Puzzled, Thomas took it in hand. He felt his blood boil to the surface at the sight of Jocelyn’s face, smiling on the paper. His gaze moved from her face, to her arm, to her hands holding a cake with a lit “3” candle on it.

Which led his eyes to the smiling blonde boy about to receive it.

He shot to his feet as the paper crinkled in his grasp. His head twisted back and forth from the boy to his twin, gears clicking in his mind.

“Who –”

“Her son.”

Thomas settled his gaze on William, knowing that underneath the stoic expression that there was a whirlwind brewing. “Her son?”

“He’s…” William trailed off, a hand finding his hair and pulling. “He’s three and a half.”

He quickly added two and two together, the realization hitting him like a punch to the face. One final look at the paper felt like another to the gut when he truly saw the color of the toddler’s hair.

“When did you –”

“Yesterday.”

“Where?”

“Ran into me, literally, at a book shop.”

Thomas started pacing. “Was she there?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Fuck.” He ran a hand over his face and rested it on his neck. “Fuck.”

“You’re telling me.” Were those tears forming in William’s eyes?

Thomas knew he had to fix this. His little brother needed help, he was scared. His mission in life was to make sure William never experienced pain; that was his burden. That’s why it had hurt him beyond comparet to put the photographs of Jocelyn and Priestley together in the office mailbox four years ago. But he had known if he hadn’t, it would have cut more deeply down the line.

But this couldn’t be fixed with photographs he could convince an employee to discreetly take.

“You’re sure he’d three and a half?”

“That’s what she fucking told me, Thomas!” he screamed before clapping a hand over his mouth.

“Hey, little brother.” He crossed the distance between them in two quick strides before wrapping him in a hug. Feeling his brother’s back shake under his hand caused him physical pain.

“I don’t know what to fucking do,” he sobbed, holding tighter to Thomas.

“I know, I know.” He sighed and squeezed his eyes shut. “We’ll figure this out. We will.”

“H-how?”

God, he wished he knew. “Trust me, little brother.”

“If he’s mine…”

“No.” Thomas grabbed William’s shoulder and pulled him back, cursing under his breath at the sight of his red eyes and tear streaked cheeks. “Don’t go there.”

“How can I not? He looks like me, he was conceived when we… we…”

“You know nothing for sure.”

William’s breath hitched as his jaw ticked. “I could be a father,” he whispered, a tear catching on his stubble.

“We will figure this out, William.” He held his gaze, knowing William needed to hear every word. “I swear on my life, one way or another. We will figure this out.”

Slowly, he nodded twice. “Just tell me how.”

Thomas sighed again, quickly scanning his brain for ideas. “A DNA test. Get a sample from you, one from the boy. We’d know in a day.”

William rolled his eyes. “That’s great and all, but she’d never let me around him again. I don’t even know where she lives.”

“Easily found. It’s the sample that could give us trouble, but I have my ways.”

“And the test. Don’t you need permission from both parents?”

Thomas scoffed. “You don’t think I have police contacts with their balls in my grip? Someone can run a test off the books with ease.”

William’s hand shook as he wiped his face. “I don’t know.”

“Then you will never know for certain. Is that what you want?”

“Fuck no.” He sighed, lip quivering. “I haven’t got another option, have I?”

“Well, you could always ask the devil incarnate herself.”

“You’re goddamn crazy, big brother.”

* * *

Thomas had no trouble in locating Jocelyn Priestley’s address, along with her husband’s new employer and Max’s child care, with just a few cursory searches.

Jocelyn was a member of the select group of individuals that Thomas hated with every fiber of his being. He had never trusted her, the one occasion they had met face to face setting him on edge, despite William’s praises. He wouldn’t have felt right serving as his twin’s best man if he didn’t check into his future sister-in-law, but sometimes he wished he hadn’t. When William had come to him after he found the photos, Thomas’s heart broke along with his, wanting to ruin the bitch who had hurt his little brother.

Now he was anxious to discover if that same bitch had unknowingly made an uncle out of him. But he still wanted to ruin her.

The only way he could be one hundred percent sure, completely ease William’s mind, was to go to the boy himself. And though that meant having to face Jocelyn, he was willing to for the sake of certainty.

He stared at her navy blue door for a good five minutes before finally bringing himself to knock, dreading to see her face when she opened the door.

It took a lot of restraint to keep himself from punching her in her tiny nose. Usually Thomas was far above hitting a woman, but she was a special case. A good punch would hardly come close to the pain she inflicted on William.

Her cunningly green eyes grew wide at the sight of Thomas on her doorstep. “What the hell, William –”

“Sorry, wrong one,” he said through gritted teeth. “I know we only met once, but I like to think I’m fairly memorable.”

Jocelyn raised a thin, immaculate eyebrow. “The twin.” She put a hand on her hip, her shocked expression quickly morphing into disgust.

He grinned, though there was no happiness to his actions. “Thomas is the name. Twin, Thomas. Alliteration. Now you’ll remember.”

She shifted her weight on heeled feet. Who wore high heels indoors?

“What do you want?” she asked, pursing her lips.

Thomas shrugged. “Heard you had a little run in with my brother the other day. Maybe even had a little family reunion?”

Her perfectly pink lips fell into a frown. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

It was his turn to raise his brows. “I think you do, Jocelyn.”

They stared at each other, two alphas used to getting exactly what they wanted, neither wanting to back down against the other. Thomas was scared for a moment he’d have to turn around with his tail between his legs, until finally, she pushed the door open all the way and nodded for him to come inside.

Her home was as pristine as she was, and if it hadn’t been for the few racecars piled onto a loveseat, Thomas would never have guessed a child was allowed inside. It was too perfect, even for him, and it made him nauseous to think how close William had come to being confined here.

“Tea?”

“I’d prefer answers for the moment.”

She crossed her arms around her chest and gripped tightly to her biceps. “Then ask the questions.”

“Alright. Firstly,” he spoke clearly though his heart pounded, “who is the father of your child?”

Jocelyn grit her teeth and flipped a stray hair out of her face. “What do you care?”

“Well, it just so happens that I care a great bloody deal, Jocelyn, seeing how my brother is a candidate.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, his gaze a challenge.

“If Maxwell was William’s,” she hissed, heels clacking on the hardwood as she took a few steps, “don’t you think I would have told him?”

“Actually, I don’t,” he raised his voice, growing more and more impatient with every word she spoke. “You’d think if you no longer loved him and had taken to share another man’s bed, you would have given a head’s up before letting him find out for himself.”

She scoffed with a shake of her head, her eyes darting around the room. “You don’t know me.”

Thomas cocked his head, studying the woman. “You’re right, I don’t. But, also… I do. Manipulative, selfish, insecure. In constant need of validation. Obsessed with perfection.” Her nostrils flared and her cheeks burned red. “Please, stop me when I get to one that’s wrong.”

“God, enough, okay?” She held up a hand to hush him. “I’m not going to stand her and –”

“Mummy!!”

A scuttle of feet rushing around the corner suddenly filled the empty room, and Jocelyn’s demeanor immediately changed. A smile filled her face when Max came barreling through the doorway, a car in each hand.

“Mummy I’m hungry,” he giggled, running in circles around her shapely legs.

“I know darling,” she, petting her hand through his blonde hair when he stilled.

Thomas had a sudden flash of memory, that same shade of hair running through the halls of his and William’s childhood home as their mother called them for lunch.

“Go on into the kitchen, darling, I’ll fix you something in a minute.” She eyed Thomas as she ushered the toddler across the hall.

Once the boy was out of earshot, Thomas stomped up to her, leaving nowhere for her to run. “I’m not playing games, woman.” He jutted his chin as he spoke. “Tell me who Max’s father is.”

Jocelyn’s hand curled into a fist at her side, her composure cracking the more Thomas pressed. She took a staggered breath as she hung her head.

Gears clicked in Thomas’s head once again. “You don’t know.”

“I’m not proud of that, alright?” she snapped with a quiet voice.

“How could you not fucking know? He looks nothing like your husband!”

She brought her head back up, eyes now red but still full of fire. “My husband…” she trailed off, collecting herself. She swallowed before continuing. “My husband wasn’t my only lover.”

Thomas felt like he was suffocating, Jocelyn’s confession stealing the air from his lungs. He wanted to strangle her, make her falls to her knees and beg for William’s forgiveness that he ultimately would never give. She had betrayed him more than she realized.

His jaw ticked. “Is that so?”

“Just one other. A bartender. One night stand.” Her shrill voice grew smaller each second. “I don’t remember his name.”

“You’re a sick woman, Jocelyn.”

She nodded. “Well, that’s your opinion. But at least I remember that the guy had blonde hair.”

Good. He could work with that. “Then you won’t mind if I make certain for you. Simply DNA test.”

Her eyes grew wide, almost betraying a hint of emotion. “And what if he’s William’s?”

“I suppose that’s a conversation for you two to have. But listen here,” he said. “You’ve taken enough away from my brother, you’re goddamn mistaken if you think you could keep his son from him.”

She didn’t speak for a few moments. “What do you need, then?”

“Some of his hair, with the root attached.”

“The second they are in your hand,” she muttered, “I want you out.”

Thomas finally chuckled at this small snake trying to threaten him. “Sweetheart, you couldn’t keep me here if you tried.”

* * *

The next forty-hours were the slowest of the twins’ lives.

William didn’t sleep, a tumbler of scotch constantly by his side while Thomas threw books at him with a blind hope they would distract him. But he barely cracked one open.

Thomas’s phone finally rang at eight in the morning, though neither of them had slept enough to be woken up by it.

“Should I answer it?” Thomas said as it rang for the second time.

“It’s my results, technically, so shouldn’t I?” William said before it reached its third.

“My contact, though.”

“For the love of God!” William snatched it from his hand and slid his thumb across the screen to answer the call. “Well?”

There was silence for a moment, William’s eyes squeezed shut while the cop spoke on the other end of the call. Thomas’s heart pounded in his ear, his anticipation almost as high as his twin’s. This one phone call had the potential to shape their worlds forever.

“And you’re sure?” William asked in a whisper, the phone pressed against his face.

“Sure about what?” Thomas muttered, trying to search William’s face.

William waved him away, his focus on the conversation. “Yes, yes… Okay. Okay. Thank you.” Slowly, he lowered the device and ended the call, staring at the black screen.

“William?”

“He’s not mine.”

The weight that had been pressing on both their chests was suddenly lifted, they could breathe again, and they each took heavy sighs as the truth washed over them.

“They’re sure?”

“They’re sure. Max is of no relation to me.” William fell onto the sofa, holding his head in his hands.

Thomas sat beside him, running a hand over his mouth. “You alright with that?”

“Yeah, god yes.”

“‘Cause I know you’ve always wanted kids.”

“But not with her. Not after what she did.” He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “Breaking up with her was a blessing. It just took me a while to see that.”

“Evil bitch.” He clapped a hand on his back, glad to have his brother fully back with him. “One day it’ll happen, little brother.”

“Yeah. One day.”


	7. Drunken Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a hard day, William and Thomas have a night out to blow off some steam.

## Drunken Nights

His day was a nightmare. It seemed every head of department had lost the ability to solve their own problems without his guidance. His father had made an appearance, only to be dragged out by security. Again. Some idiot hadn’t fact checked their proposal before sending it to a client and he had been on the phone all day trying to fix their stupidity. By the time the clock struck 5, he was ready for a stiff drink.

With every intention of leaving early, William groaned when his phone rang. He thought about letting it ring, but the sound itself was deafening and he snatched it up.

“What?” he barked out.

“Ouch, that’s how you greet your brother now?”

William sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “It’s been a day.”

“Oh I can relate,” Thomas agreed, and by the sound of his brother’s agitated tone, William had a feeling they were both needing that stiff drink.

“Our usual spot?”

“Better hurry and catch up, I’m already two drinks ahead.”

“Save _some_ liquor for me.”

William rolled his eyes as he hung up the phone and quickly shut down his computer. He raced to make it out of the office and to the elevators without anyone attracting his attention. He couldn’t deal with another problem someone else should have been dealing with..

“Mr. Hiddleston?” Evans, one of his top associates started for him.

“No.” William shook his head, hurrying into the elevator that had arrived.

“But sir -”

“Go to someone else with your problem, Evans. Anyone at all. I’m done for the day.” He pressed the lobby button countless times until the doors finally began to close.

“But -”

“Someone else!”

Shaking his head, William leaned against the wall as the elevator began its descent. He loosened his tie, only to tug it off all together and stuffed it into his briefcase. He was as good as free as the doors dinged open minutes later and he was able to escape the building and to the line of cabs. Giving the cab driver the name of the pub, William leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. Finally he could breathe and just relax.

* * *

William snorted. “You’re drunk.”  
  
“I am not drunk,” Thomas insisted, swaying on his stood. “I’m perfectly sober.”

“You can’t even keep up straight.” William rolled his eyes as he reached for his glass, only to frown when he was met with air. Eyebrows furrowing, he searched for the amber filled glass, only to realized it was a good foot in the other direction. Shrugging, he reached for it, only to knock the rim into his chin as he tried to take a sip.

“You can’t even drink,” Thomas snickered. “At least I know where my drink is…where the hell is my drink?”  
  
“You were cut off 20 minutes ago,” the bartender informed.

Thomas frowned. “Well that’s just not going to work for me. Another!”

“I really don’t need two drunken idiots in here before we even get crowded. Sober up and get your asses out of here.”

William could feel the laughter bubbling. Thomas just sent both his brother and the bartender a glare. Shaking his head, William pushed himself away from the bar, only to nearly topple over the back of the stool. Righting himself, he carefully glided off the seat and wobbly stood.   
  
“Where the hell are you going?” Thomas demanded.

“He said to leave.” William shrugged, searching for his wallet. He patted every pocket three times before finally locating it, fishing a few - or a dozen - bills out and tossing them on the bar.

“But what are we supposed to do now?”

William almost wanted to laugh at his brother’s whine.

“Are you laughing at me?” Thomas shoved his arm. “I should be the one laughing at you, you giant corporate ass kisser.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Oh just shut your stupid mouth. I’m the big brother, remember?”

“How is that even relevant?”

“William!”

The bartender sighed as he collected the money paying for their tab and pointed towards the door. “Just both of you get out of here.”

Thomas waved him off. “We’re going we’re going, jesus fucking christ man.” He grabbed his phone from the bar and loudly sighed when he saw the missed messages. “Bishooooop.”

William laughed at his whine again, only to move out of the way of the half hearted fist flying at him.

“When I’m sober, I’m going to put you on your ass.”

“So you admit you’re drunk.”

“We’re _both_ drunk.”

“I’m so not drunk.”

“That’s the bathroom, William.”

William looked up at the sign above the door he was above to push through. “Oh.”

Grabbing the back of his jacket, Thomas guided him to the exit and shoved him out.

“Now what?” William looked up and down the street for a taxi. Spotting one, he started to walk towards it when Thomas held him back. “What the fuck was that for?”

“The night’s just beginning.” He started walking WIlliam down the street, only to stop half way down the block and turn back around in the proper direction.

“We just got kicked out of our usual spot.”

“I own clubs, little brother. Multiple clubs,” Thomas pointed out. “And they can’t kick us out.”

“They’d probably wish they could kick your ass out.”

“Funny.”

William rolled his eyes. “Don’t you think we’ve had enough?”

“Hardly, but it’s fine. We’ll sober up while we prepare.”

“Prepare?” WIlliam narrowed his eyes. “Prepare for what?”

Thomas led him towards a drugstore, pushing him through the doors. “Oh nothing, just an idea I have.”

* * *

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” William eyed the box of hair dye sitting on the bathroom counter.

“Of course I do.” Thomas shook his head. “How can you not trust me, your twin brother? I have your best interest at heart.”

“Why do you want to dye my hair anyways.”

“It’ll be fun. Don’t you want to look like me?”

“I already look like you.”

“Yes, but I’m obviously more attractive. You should be thanking me for this.”

William snorted. “If you end up making me bald I will murder you.”

“You have no faith in me. Really, it hurts.”

“Just don’t fuck this up.”

* * *

“You fucked it up.”

“I did not,” Thomas pushed him into the elevator with a hiss. “Now remember what I told you.”

“Why am I doing this again?”

“Because Bishop is annoying me.”

Raising an eyebrow, William pushed his hand out before the elevator door could close. “What are you, five?”

“Here,” Thomas shoved a flask into his hands. “You’re sobering up and it’s a let down.”

Rolling his eyes, he took the flask and downed half of its contents. “You owe me.”

“Fine, I’ll get you the glock you’ve been admiring, alright? Just remember to be a dick. Bishop responds to that.”

“Yeah I’m sure he does,” William snickered, stepping back and letting the doors closed on Thomas’ glare.

He watched as the floors passed while running his fingers through his now black hair. How the hell had he let his brother talk him into this? Really, it was childish and ridiculous. But that glock was nice…

When the doors slid open, William blinked and found himself face to face with an agitated Bishop. Shit, what was he supposed to do again?

“There you are,” Bishop grunted. “We have a shit pile of issues.”

“Oh, ah.” William cursed his brother for not filling him in as he took a tentative step out of the elevator. “Right.”

Bishop held out a tablet. “The shipment is delayed. Again. They’re fucking around on us.” When William didn’t immediately grab the tablet, Bishop raised an eyebrow. “Boss?”

“Yes, it’s delayed. Right.” William started to nod, clumsily taking the tablet. He had to squint to try and figure out what he was seeing and wondered if he still had his glasses around. But no, not in his pocket. Shit, where had he left them? Work? The bar? Home? Did his asshole of a brother steal them again because they aren’t ‘fashionable’ enough?

Bishop narrowed his eyes at him, taking him in. He smelt like a bar, but that had never stopped Thomas from his tirade whenever someone thought they could pull the wool over their eyes. That’s when Bishop spotted it. A stripe of hair that wasn’t quite like the rest. Blonde. Why the fuck did Thomas have a stripe of blonde…

“Fucking hell,” he muttered under his breath. “Why the fuck me?”

“What?” William looked over.

“Nothing, _Thomas_.” He struggled not to roll his eyes. “So is there a plan? I suggest sending O’Malley in. He can take them all out within seconds. Wipe them clean.”

William’s eyes widened. “You want to kill them? For being delayed?”

“But that’s what we always do.” Bishop’s lips twitched.

“But that’s…that’s just…” William struggled to find his words as the last bit of alcohol started to hit him. Damn, what did Thomas give him? “That’s just mean.”

Bishop started to laugh and had to fake a cough.

“No we should just give them a warning or something. Or maybe scare them a bit.” William nodded. “It’s a good plan. I like it.”

“Sure. Sure of course,” Bishop took back the tablet. “Oh, sir? What’s my name again?”

William looked at him oddly. “Bishop.”

“First name.”

“You have a first name?”

* * *

“I can’t believe you didn’t know his first name!” Thomas complained as they sat at the bar of one of his clubs.

“How the hell was I supposed to know his name!” William argued, slapping down two shots in front of them. “Just take your damn shot or else I win.”

“Shut your mouth, you’re not beating me.” Thomas tried to down the drink, only to manage half of it in his mouth while the rest dripped down his shirt.

“You can’t even get it in your mouth, I win,” William finished the shot and slammed the glass down onto the bar with a grin. “I think you’re losing it in your old age.”

“We’re the same age!”

“Excuse me, you’re four minutes older.”

“Those are important fucking minutes!”

“Exactly! You’re the old man.”

“I’m going to strangle you.”

“You’d miss me.”

“Not bloody likely,” Thomas grumbled as he struggled to stand from the stool. “I need to take a piss, try not to forget someone’s name while I’m gone.”

“How was I supposed to know his name!” William called after him.

Thomas snickered as he stumbled around the crowded dance floor to the bathrooms on the other side of the club. He bypassed those waiting and immediately shoved his way to the urinals, throwing the complainers a look that immediately shut their mouths.

Heading back towards the bar, he frowned when his brother wasn’t anywhere to be found. “Goddamn William, he needs a fucking leash.”

Thomas climbs back onto his stool and ordered another round as he pulled out his phone and checked his notifications. There was another two weeks notice from Bishop, as usual. He rolled his eyes and deleted the email. There was a handful of texts and emails from clients and distributors, but he ignored those for the time being. And then he came across a text from Amanda. He had messaged her earlier, asking what she was doing that night. After the day he had, he had just wanted to sink inside her and lose himself. But she was taking the weekend to visit her father and he would just have to make do without her. Which was fine. He could pick half a dozen women within his sights just right then and they’d happily sleep with him.

But his fingers had a mind of their own and he tapped her number and lifted the phone up to his ear. When he got the voice message, the words just rambled out of him.

“Damn, I wish you were here tonight, baby. You know I sometimes miss not waking up to you? That’s weird. I hate sleeping with someone, you know? Not fucking. Obviously I love fucking. But just _sleeping_ , it’s fucking weird. But with you it’s…nice? Is nice a word? I don’t remember right now. But it was. It is. We should do it more.”

“Who are you talking to?”

Thomas raised an eyebrow as William approached, a frown on his face. “No one.”

“Then give me the phone.”

“Just give me a minute.”

“Oh no.” William tried to reach for it, but Thomas leaned back. “You can’t drunk dial someone, you know how that turns out. Do you remember that time in Uni? You ended up calling the dean and almost got yourself kicked out. You’re lucky his wife got the message.”

“Speaking of which, did I ever tell you that she…”

“DO NOT SAY IT!”

“Whatever.” Thomas shrugged before remembering he was still on the phone. “Shit. Fuck. Right. So we should hang out when you’re back, Amanda.”

William’s eyes widened. “You’re fucking calling Amanda!”

“She didn’t pick up,” Thomas pointed out.

“Give. Me. The. Phone.” William tried to grab at it again.

“Nooooooo,” Thomas jumped off the stool, clutching the phone to his chest. Neither of them realized the message had ended, the ring tone the only thing sounding from the phone. But neither cared as William tackled his brother, nearly knocking him to the ground. “Get off me you ugly asshole!”

“I look like you, you idiot! Now give me that phone!”

“Mine!”

“Give it to me.”

“No!”

“Stop being a baby.”

“Whatever you say, mom.”

“Oh hello there.”

The twins froze at the woman’s voice, their heads slowly turning towards the dark haired beauty flashing them a seductive smile. William immediately let go of Thomas and straightened. “Oh hello, doll.”

Thomas grinned as he lifted the phone back up to his ear triumphantly, only for an identical twin to the woman step up beside her. The phone was forgotten, falling to the ground as he righted his collar and offered his own charming smile to the twins.

* * *

“They were twins!”

“You’re the one who spilled a drink down her cleavage.”

“You accidentally called one ugly.”

“I didn’t mean to say that!”

Thomas rolled his eyes as they shuffled inside the house, both alone and drunk.

“Fuck, I’m hungry.” William rubbed his stomach. “Do we have any food in the house?”

“You’re the one who cooks.”

“You have two hands.”

“You literally push me out of the kitchen every time I try to use the stove.”

“You nearly burned the brand new house down!”

“I just looked away for two seconds.”

William snorted and began towards his beloved kitchen. “Sure you did.”

“Whatever, you look like an idiot.” Thomas grumbled.

“Thanks to you!” William snapped back as he scavenged the kitchen for something to eat. He frowned as he looked into the fridge and found a carton of milk and a few eggs. He forgot he was supposed to stop by the store on his way home that night. But the day had gotten to him and he had gotten distracted at the pub with Thomas. Now they barely had anything to eat and he was _starving_.

Grabbing the milk and eggs, he shrugged and started to make something. He wasn’t sure what, or if it’d be edible. He’d have Thomas eat it first, just in case. He was just able to call his brother, the concoction nearly cooked, when he realized he hadn’t heard from Thomas in some time. Frowning, he turned off the stove and went in search of him. The last place he expected to find Thomas was in his own closet. The last thing William expected to see was every last one of Thomas’ suits tossed on the floor.

“What are you doing?”

“Reorganizing, this system just doesn’t work at all. It’s so boring. And I’m not boring so why is my closet boring?” Thomas was sitting in the middle of the walk in, shaking his head as he threw a jacket over his shoulder. “That won’t do. Maybe I should give them all away. Start fresh.”

Raising an eyebrow, William leaned against the doorway. “You should definitely do that.”

Thomas lifted up a pair of slacks. “People make shorts of of pants, did you know that? Do you think these would look nice as shorts?”

William struggled not to laugh. “They’d look great, you should definitely do that.”

Thomas shrugged and nodded, reaching for a pair of scissors. Snorting, William patted his pockets for his phone and took a video of his twin cutting up his precious suits. Oh he was going to enjoy this when he was sober.

* * *

He had barely been asleep for a couple of hours when William was startled awake by his brother’s yell.

“WILLIAM!”

“Fucking hell,” William groaned, dragging his hand down his face. He blinked his eyes open only to immediately snap them close at the bright light coming through the window. “Jesus christ, never again.”

He tried to slowly pull himself out of bed, but Thomas’ screams forced him to tumble over the side.

“I SWEAR TO GOD I’M GOING TO MURDER YOU!”

“I’m going to murder you soon if you don’t shut up,” William grumbled, pushing himself to his feet and stumbling down the hallway to his brother’s room. He shouldn’t have been surprised when he found Thomas standing in the middle of his disastrous closet. William tried not to smirk, he really did. “Morning, big brother. Have a good sleep?”

“What. The. Fuck. Did. You. Do?” Thomas was fuming as he held one of his new pairs of shorts, formerly his favourite pair of pants.

“Don’t look at me, that was all you.”

“Fuck that.”

“Honestly, Thomas, you’re the one who wanted to play fashion designer, not me.”

Thomas’ eyes were bugging out of his head. “What?”

“I think I sent the video to your phone.” William shrugged.

Hurrying back out into the room, Thomas snatched up his phone and searched for the video. The string of curses told William he found it.

“Don’t fucking laugh about this, asshole,” Thomas glared. “You look like a skunk.”

“Huh?” William raised an eyebrow and wandered over to a mirror. It was the first time the messy dye job registered. “You said you wouldn’t mess it up!”

“Obviously I lied.”

“You little…”


	8. Share and Share Alike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Desperate for some help in the office, Thomas knows just the secretary to ask.

## Share and Share Alike

“Bloody hell!”

Thomas was drowning in paperwork and reports, files that hadn’t been put away in weeks, and an unusual mess across his entire desk. He had never been this unorganized before in his life. He was borderline OCD. But the work kept piling up, and the only one he trusted with half of the information was Bishop. But his right hand was busy enough and neither could even begin to tackle the work that needed to be done.

“Fuck!” Thomas shoved files to the side so he could reach his computer. Everything was in the way, nothing was easy to reach for anymore, and it was agitating him. He needed order. He needed everything to be in their rightful place. How the hell was he supposed to run a cartel this way?

“I think you need a secretary.”

Thomas scowled at the smirking Bishop. “Oh and who would you bloody recommend? The clueless receptionist? Some random stranger off the street?”

“Probably better than dealing with all that.” Bishop nodded at the mess. “There’s gotta be someone you trust.”

“This isn’t some random numbers I can give to an idiot in accounting without them finding out the details. This is sensitive information,” Thomas argued, shaking his head. “There’s no one.”

“Your brother?” even if it pained Bishop to say.

Thomas shook his head. “He has his own company to deal with. We use enough of his help as it is. Anyways, I’m more organized than that slob.”

“There has to be someone.”

“If there is, they’re all idiots who couldn’t work a filing cabinet.” Thomas rolled his eyes. “Why do I have a bunch of idiots working for me?”

“They’re damn good at what they can do.”

“Right.”

Thomas leaning back in his chair. Bishop _was_ right, though he admitted that only to himself. There had to be someone, at some level, that he could trust with this task. His brother was out of the question. He wouldn’t take one of his best men or women to do paperwork when he needed them to deal with the clients and shipments. The receptionist didn’t even realize Browning was just a front. Moira was the only one in the damn place that knew how to add. She was far too valuable to him for her to be anywhere outside of accounting. So then who?

Shoving the thought from his mind, he tried to focus on securing the next shipment. There had been issues with it last week, more delays, and Thomas wasn’t having any of it. It wasn’t until lunch that he took a break, calling up William’s number to break for a bite.

“Mr. Hiddleston’s office, how can I help you.”

A slow smirk slid across his face. “Hello, sweet girl.”

“Oh.” he could hear Amanda’s shy voice. “Hello sir.”

“And how are you, darling?”

“Fine. I’m very well.”

“And your trip to see your father?”

“Oh it was lovely, sir.”

“Good good, is my brother around for lunch?”

Amanda paused, checking his appointments. “He’s free, I’ll put your call through.”

“Excellent, thank you my dear.” He was waiting for her to do so when an idea struck him. “Oh, darling? Are you free tonight?”

* * *

She lay flat on her back, her body still shaking as she came down from her orgasm. Her chest rose and fell heavily as her damp hair clung to her face. Thomas grinned as he stared up at her as he slowly slid down her body. God she was delectable in this state. So completely his in that moment, completely at his mercy. He could do just about anything, and she would plead for more, begging for another release.

“Oh sweet girl.” He kissed her her stomach, caressing her thighs as she drew her legs apart.

“Hm?” Her eyes fluttered close as she enjoyed his kisses, his touch.

“Manda, I need to ask you something,” he spoke between kisses.

Her eyes snap open and grew wide. “O-okay.”

He gives her one more kiss. “Would you please, please come be my secretary for a week? I can’t bloody function without one.” He raises his brow and gives her a puppy dog face. “And there’s no one better than you.”

She looked at him in surprise. “Work for you? But what about -”

“It’s a bit of a logistical nightmare.” He shrugged. “But I can make it worthwhile for you.”

“But William -”

“He’s a big boy, he’ll deal.” He lifted up onto his elbows. “I’m drowning in work. Every day there’s another pile added and I can’t seem to make a dent in them. I could use a miracle, and you’re the absolute best, darling.”

She didn’t answer at first, just watching, the wheels turning in her head. “Won’t he mind?”

“He never has to know,” Thomas pointed out. “Call in sick for a few days, I’m sure you have enough saved up. He won’t know the difference.”

Amanda frowned. “That would mean lying to him.”

Massaging her thigh, a smirk slide across his lips. “Just a tiny white lie. He won’t ever have to know. And I’d be forever grateful, baby. I can think of a dozen ways I can already make it up to you. Shall I start?”

She weighed his offer, her eyes narrowing as she took him in. “You’re not just asking so you can fuck me in your office all day, are you?”

He swatted her thigh. “Now now, dear, I’m not that unthoughtful. I really do need the help. And anything extra would just be for our enjoyment.”

He didn’t worry as she took her time to think over the proposal. Instead, he focused his attention on her mound. Shifting further down on the bed, he took her thighs in his hands and pressed her legs even further apart. Before he could steal his taste, however, she spoke.

“I guess it can’t hurt.”

Thomas wanted to celebrate the victory, but was sobered quickly when he lifted back up from her glistening clit. “There are, however, things you need to know. Things that you’ll come across that might be a bit alarming.”

An eyebrow raised. “What sort of things?”

Sighing, Thomas moved beside her on the bed. She immediately went into his arms, a concept he still hadn’t gotten used to yet. Even still, his arms automatically wrapped themselves around her and held her tight to his chest.

“Do you know what I do, Manda?”

“Not really, you don’t ever really talk about that stuff.”

“Too right. But it’s rather…important that you know if you’ll be working for me.”

Amanda frowned. “What is it?”

He hated having to tell her. He knew she’d be disappointed, terrified even. And for some reason, that thought scared him. Thomas didn’t want to worry her, to scare her in any way. He didn’t want her to look at him any differently. But she would, he had no doubt. Everyone always did. Even his own brother had been unsure when he first admitted his involvement in the cartel. But sweet Amanda? She had no ties to him that would force her to understand. She’d be out of his bed the instant he confessed. He considered keeping her in the dark, but if on the off chance she didn’t run off, he knew without a doubt he could trust her with those secrets.

“Now you’ll see me in a different light, but it’s imperative you know what you’d be handling before you make up your mind.”

“But I already have.”

“Just let me explain, yes?” He stroked her hair. “And then if you will still help me, I’ll be very grateful.”

She just nodded, tightening her arms around him. His eyes squeezed shut as he told her. He left out what details he could, especially about his past, but he gave her the most detailed overview of the cartel that he could. He didn’t look at her. Something told him not to open his eyes. Afterward, he held his breath, just waiting for her to shift out of his arms and quietly leave. He was surprised, however, when he felt her fingers on his chest, rubbing in small circles.

“I’m not going to pretend to try and understand it all,” her voice was soft. “And I feel like there’s more to the story, to you, but I won’t push you.”

He clapped his hand over her fingers, holding them in place. “I understand if you see me differently now. If you’d rather not see me…” he couldn’t say the words, his throat growing tight.

Amanda’s eyebrows furrowed as she pushed herself up onto her elbow. His eyes were still closed, his face twisted in an emotion she couldn’t remember ever seeing on his face before. “Why wouldn’t I want to see you?”

He scoffed. “I’m a criminal, Amanda. A drug dealer. I’m not exactly the saint people think I am.”

“People think you’re a saint?” she giggled. “Thomas, I may not have known about all of this, but I wasn’t naive to think you were a saint. There’s always been something dangerous about you.”

“This is a bit more than a little danger.”

“Will I be in danger? Working for you?”

His eyes flew open. “I’d never let that happen.”

She held his stare for a moment before nodding. “I trust you.”

Thomas snorted. “You shouldn’t.”

“But I do.”

His arm tightened around her. “I _would_ understand if you didn’t.”

“I said I’d help you out,” she leaned up, pecking his lips. “And I will. What you do doesn’t change anything. I believe in you, Thomas.”

The oddness in his chest bothered him, and he quickly tried to brush the serious moment off. “Well, in that case, I suppose I should get back to thanking you.”

Amanda giggled. “I guess so.”

* * *

William rubbed the bridge of his nose as the phone rang and rang and rang. It had been going all morning, and he had had enough. Didn’t he have a secretary to deal with this? He wasn’t one to hound Amanda. She was the best damn secretary he could have asked for and made his life a hell of a lot less complicated than it should be. She kept his father at bay, everything organized, kept his department heads from barging in every five minutes for some ridiculous problems. He’d be a wreck by now if it hadn’t been for her.

But where the hell was she?

It had been three days since he had seen her. She had left an apologetic voice mail saying she was ill and couldn’t come in, but she spoke with HR about getting in a temp. HR was a bunch of idiots, William was certain, as every single idiot they sent up, he fired on the spot. Hell, he should just fire the entire HR. But then that would bee too much of an issue and he obviously didn’t have the time to deal with that. But it had been days and he hadn’t heard another word from Amanda and he was starting to get worried.

Picking up his phone, he called his brother, hoping he’d have an idea where she might be.

“Hello little brother, what can I do for you?”

“You haven’t by chance seen Amanda, have you? The last few days?”

“No not at all. Why, is there a problem?”

William sighed in defeat. “She called in sick a few days ago but I haven’t heard from her since. I’m starting to get worried.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much. You’ve been running the poor girl ragged. She just needs some rest.”

William frowned. Had he really been putting that much work on her? Shit. “You’re probably right. I just wanted to see if you’ve seen her the last few nights.”

“Can’t say I have. You know I don’t see women again that often.”

He snickered. Sure, Thomas, sure.

“Well if you do hear from her, see how she’s feeling, alright?”

“Will do.” A hand muffled the receiver as William heard some talking. “Oh thank you, love, that’s perfect.”

“You’re welcome, Thomas. You didn’t say if you wanted lunch, but you really do need to eat.”

William’s eyebrows furrowed. Why did that voice sound so familiar? It almost sounded like…

Oh his fucking brother. Of course that’s what happened to Amanda. One little crook of his finger, and the poor girl was at his feet. Not that his brother realized just how devoted she already was to him, something William would worry about in the future. He should have known the bastard would pull something like this.

Struggling not to ream his brother out just yet, he waited until Thomas returned.

“Anyways, is that all? I have a meeting tonight I’d like if you’d come to if you don’t mind.”

“Yeah, of course. I’m just going to pop by Amanda’s first, though.”

“Oh? Why would you do that?”

“Well you are right, I have been working her a lot lately. It’s the least I can do to check on her and bring her some soup.”

“Right. Right that makes sense. So you’ll be doing that tonight before the meeting?”

William smirked. “I think I’ll go over now.”

Silence.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? She might be contagious. Or she might not even be there.”

“Well she’s sick, why wouldn’t she be there?”

“Doctors appointment?”

“Hm, I should probably call her to make sure.”

“Uh, right. Yes. Would be a good idea. Anyways, I should get going. See you tonight, little brother.”

The bastard hung up on him. Shaking his head, William grabbed his keys and headed out of the office, walking straight passed the three department heads heading straight towards him. He waved off their questions and concerns and made his way to the elevator. He had more important matters to deal with. Like his damn secretary stealing brother.

* * *

Amanda was organizing the files she had cleared from Thomas’ desk the other day, tsking at the terrible filing system they had in place. It had taken her days to get through only a portion of them, but once she was through with them, everything would be at the tips of his fingers.

Seeing an approaching figure out of the corner of her eye, she slowly raised her gaze, her words almost automatic after so many years. “Good Afternoon, Mr. Hiddleston.”

She looked back down to the files, hand reaching for another folder when she realized what she had just said. Head snapping up, her eyes growing wide, she stared in horror as William stared down at her.

“William!” Amanda immediately stood up, pressing down her dress and biting her lip nervously. “I’m so sorry, sir. I know I called in sick, and obviously I’m here and…”

But William held up a hand to stop her. “Shh, it’s alright, dear.”

“But I -”

“Were manipulated by my evil twin, I understand.” He nodded solemnly. “But you won’t have to worry about him after I’m through with him.”

“Um.” She looked nervously between the closed office door and him. “I shouldn’t have agreed. He just seemed so helpless and just needed a little bit of help. I was going to be back by Monday, I swear.”

He reached a hand out, cupping her cheek and brushing his thumb across her soft skin. “It’s all okay, Amanda. I don’t blame you.”

“So I, I’m not fired?” She looked hopeful. “Because I do love my job, sir. I love working for you. I was just -”

“Swept away by the giant jackass,” he agreed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to murder him.”

It took her a moment for his comment to register. “Oh!”

Amanda watched with wide, worried eyes as William shoved the door open and stormed into the office.

“You stole my secretary!”

Thomas nearly fell from his chair as the front legs came falling forward. “Jesus, William!”

“You stole. My. Secretary,” William narrowed his eyes.

Rolling his eyes, Thomas adjusted his jacket and looked over his clean desk. “What can I say, she’s rather efficient in her role, isn’t she?”

“Why the hell do you think _I_ hired in the first place?”

“Well there’s no rule that she only has to work for you.”

“You can damn well bet I’m putting a clause in now,” William huffed. “Seriously?”

Thomas shrugged. “What? I needed help. I was desperate and she’s the best. I couldn’t help myself.”

William snorted. “You never can.”

A smirk slid across Thomas’ face. “Nope.”

“Did you really think I wouldn’t find out?”

“I was hoping.”

“What if I came by for lunch?”

“Why do you think I offered to meet you?”

“You little, conniving bastard!”

Thomas snickered. “There’s really an easy solution to all of this, if you’d calm down and listen.”

“Oh please, do tell me this wonderful solution that you have. Is it me throttling you? Because I think that’s a great idea.” William crossed his arms.

Thomas raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening. “I do love to rile you up. But no, of course not. You’d miss me too much. However, sharing might be an interesting idea.”

William blinked in surprise. “Sharing? We already share her, you idiot.”

Sighing, Thomas shook his head. “Not like that, little brother. Use your head. I mean share her as a secretary.”

William waited, expecting a lengthier explanation. But when none came, he fought back a laugh. “We don’t need to share her because I was the one who hired her. As MY secretary.”

“There’s no reason why we both can’t experience her expertise. She’s a miracle worker,” Thomas motioned around his office. William did have to admit, it was much neater than the last time he had been here. It was unusual when there was a mess in Thomas’ life. He was far too anal for that. But the files had just kept piling up, with no end in sight. But that wasn’t the point. Before he could point out the terrible logistics Thomas obviously hadn’t considered, a soft knock sounded at the door.

Both set of eyes met Amanda’s as she shyly stood in the doorway, wringing her hands.

“I would be okay with that.” She bit her bottom lip nervously. “Being shared, that is.” Her cheeks flushed when both sent her heated stares. “I mean, as a secretary. Being shared as a secretary. Obviously I’m fine with the other, um, sharing as well. But the job, I could be both your secretaries.”

A pleased look crossed Thomas’ face. “See? She’s perfectly fine with it.”

William rolled his eyes as he turned towards her with a frown. “Is that what you’d want, Amanda? To work here? Because if you’re unhappy where you are -”

“No!” she hurried to assure him. “No I love working for you. I do, William. But I, I don’t mind working for Thomas either.” Her cheeks were burning now. “I like helping the two of you.”

Thomas grinned as he crooked a finger at her. Amanda hesitated, watching William’s reaction, but moved over to Thomas’ side. Catching her around her waist, he eased her down onto his lap, holding her in place. She squirmed, but with a quick whispered promise if she didn’t sit still, she immediately kept in place.

“Good girl,” he murmured before looking over at his brother. “Well, little brother? What’s going on in that head of yours.”

“I don’t want you to be unhappy in any way,” William confessed. “I enjoy having you at work, and god knows you make my life easier. But if you’re happier here…”

She looked so distraught. “But I am happy there. I’m just, I’m happy here too.”

“We can easily make this work,” Thomas pointed out. “Alternating weeks?”

William scoffed. “Are you telling me after you’ve had her for a few days, you could survive an entire week without her.

Thomas nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Every other day?”

“That’d be too chaotic.” William shook his head.

Tilting his head to the side, Thomas considered him. “What about Monday and Tuesday with you, Thursday and Friday here, and we alternate Wednesdays.”

William’s lips pursed. “I could see it as doable.”

Amanda perked up. “Really? This is something that could work?”

William looked her over, his expression softening at her hopeful look. He wandered around the desk, leaning against it as his thumb dragged across her lips. “If this is something you’d want, I couldn’t say no.”

“You’re not someone that makes it easy to say no to.” Thomas admitted softly.

“You do owe me a drink though, for stealing my secretary,” William shot at him.

“I owe you a drink for finding her in the first place.” Thomas tapped her flushed cheek. “She’s fantastic.”

Lifting her chin, William stole a kiss as Thomas stoked her hair.

“I think I have a better idea than a drink,” Thomas mused, nuzzling her neck, nipping at the skin.

Amanda let out a small gasp as William trailed his lips down to the other side of her neck. “I think I like the way you’re thinking.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Right now?”

“Would you object, darling girl?”

With their hands wandering over every inch of skin they could find, Amanda bit her lip and shook her head. William took a quick step back as Thomas suddenly lifted Amanda into his arms as he stood. With her arms tightly around him, he carried her over to the couch, settling her straddling his lap. William waited only a half second before he slowly began to approach, tugging on his tie and slipping out of his jacket.

Thomas cupped her breast, thumbing her hard nipple and murmured in her ear. “Do you like that we’re both your bosses now, sweet girl?” With only a lick of her lips and a nod, Thomas took her other breast in his hand. “Good, because I can think of a few things your bosses will need from you, don’t you, William?”

“Oh, just a few.” He pressed himself against her back. “But I have no doubt she’ll be able to complete those tasks beautifully.”

“No doubt at all.”


	9. Working for the Weekend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amanda’s feeling some Friday boredom at the Hiddleston offices, but luckily, Thomas calls with a solution.

## Working for the Weekend

Only a few more hours until the weekend, Amanda told herself. She was desperately in need of an American Horror Story binge with that new bottle of wine she had gotten on a grocery run.

She sighed, bored as the last few hours of the day at Hiddleston Corporations dragged on. She may have considered asking to leave early, but she knew she wouldn’t actually be able to leave. Her loyalty kept her seated at her desk day in and day out.

Not that she would ever complain. Especially when William would occasionally come by and discreetly ask for her to join him in his office.

No, she would certainly never complain about that. Both her and William had kept up an amazing job of not revealing that they were connected any further than boss and secretary. Her arrangement with the twins had helped her in almost every aspect of her life – except, she tried to forget, the fact that there was no promise to take their relationship beyond the bedroom. Ever. Not with both of them, and certainly not with just one.

Not even with Thomas.

The phone ringing jolted her out of her own thoughts, and in her haste to relieve some of the boredom she didn’t bother to check the caller ID.

“William Hiddleston’s office,” she recited in a sing-song voice. “Amanda Tremaine speaking.”

“What do your panties look like, Amanda?”

Thomas’s voice crept into her ear and made her entire body shudder to the point that she nearly dropped the office phone to her desk. Her back straightened as she swallowed a gasp, instinctively looking around to make sure no one had heard the dirty question, though she knew in her heart no one had.

“Darling?”

“T-Thomas, I -”

“I asked you a question, Amanda.”

Oh _god_. His words were pure sex, and her legs pressed together on their own accord. Nearly a year of sleeping with him, and it seemed like every time he spoke to her, he had more power over her.

“Thomas, I’m-I’m-”

“Working. I’m well aware.” His voice was lower, more gravely over the phone. Like it sounded sometimes after he’d smoked a few cigarettes. But still, she reveled in every word that came through the receiver. “Your panties. Now.”

Amanda knew not to argue with the tone he’d used on that last word. As she took a deep breath, she wondered if she could lie and say she had forgone that panties. But she also knew Thomas well enough that, without even seeing her, he would tell she was lying.

“They’re… they’re red.”

“Just red, darling?”

“Yeah - yes. Red with, with um, lace trim. Along the hip.”

“Mm. Good girl,” Thomas mused, and Amanda felt herself light up at the familiar phrase. “Now, take them off for me.”

Her eyes widened and once again her head whipped around to make sure she was the only soul around. “What?”

“You heard me, Manda.”

She swallowed and tugged at the end of her hair. “I… I… Okay, I’ll be ri-”

“Oh no no no, baby. Right where you are.”

The command both scared her and turned her on. How like Thomas this game was.

She stammered, “But I’m, I’m at my desk and -”

“Yes. As I said, right where you are.”

“But how -”

He cut her off with a ready answer. “Press the phone between your cheek and shoulder and slip them off. You’re wearing a skirt, aren’t you? It shouldn’t be too hard. And you can be very discreet, darling.”

“Thomas -”

“Aren’t you my good little girl, Amanda?”

Her eyes closed, just as they always did when he called her that. The effect he had on her was so strong, and part of her hated how attached she had become. But another part, a bigger part, was fully willing to do any Thomas said.

“Okay.”

“A very good girl, doing just as I say,” he exhaled heavily, and she heard him shift in his chair. “You’re making me hard, baby.”

She couldn’t help it; a whimper escaped her lips.

Thomas chuckled at the small sound, and Amanda bit her lip. “Do it now, baby.”

She cast a glance over her shoulder to William’s office doors, completely shut and closing her off from the closest person. She checked the elevator and the nearby hallway: all clear.

Still biting her lip, she pressed the phone against her cheek and bunched up her skirt under her desk, her fingers finding the lace on her hips and tugging down as fast as she could. The panties fell around her ankles, and she stepped her heeled feet out of them before they fell to the floor. With one hand, she crumpled the small fabric into her fist and flattened her skirt with the other.

“I’ve done it, Thomas,” she almost whispered.

“Are they wet, darling?”

She had known before she stripped them off that they were, but now that she was naked under her skirt, she was fully aware of just _how_ wet. “Thomas -”

“I know that are,” he groaned, and Amanda wondered if he has palming himself through his trousers. Or even -

“Put them in you purse,” he continued, breaking her from her wandering thoughts. “And don’t even think about putting them back on.”

A chill ran over her as she did so, and she crossed her legs. “Yes, sir.”

“I love when you called me ‘sir,’ baby.” His voice was breathy and low, like how it was when he would press his lips against her ear. “I’ve been thinking about you all fucking day.”

Amanda whimpered again, hiding her face in her hands. She was supposed to start working at his office soon on the new plan the twins had concocted; though she suspected she would more time in Thomas’s office than actually doing work. The man was insatiable.

Not that she would ever complain.

“Tell me you’re free tonight,” he said.

“I am.”

“And the rest of the weekend?”

She found herself biting her lip again. “I, I don’t think I’ve got anything, sir.”

“So if I called my brother and told him to bring you to our house, right now, without stopping at your flat to pick up a change of clothes,” Thomas said, casually proposing something that made Amanda hold her breath, “would you stay with us?”

“You know I would.” The honest admission fell out of her before she could stop it.

“I do know, baby.” Something in his voice reassured her that her candor hadn’t been missed. “My cock is hard as fuck, Amanda. Will you take care of that for me when I see you?”

She licked her lips, imagining the taste of him on her tongue. “Yes, sir, I will.”

“My sweet girl. Behave yourself for just a little longer.” He sighed. “I’ll call William now, he’ll bring you home.”

“Okay, Tho -” The call clicked off before she could finish his name, but she didn’t want to think about the twinge of disappointment that poked at her.

She returned the phone to its dock, realizing how hot her face was after the ordeal. A peak of red was visible in her purse to remind her of the act, but amazingly, she didn’t feel any shame for it.

At least it had alleviated the boredom.

Behind her, William’s door flew open, and she turned in her chair to see her lover and boss staring at her with barely contained hunger.

“You’re not wearing any panties?” he asked, not even trying to be discreet.

Amanda’s mouth dropped open, no sound coming out.

“Jesus Christ, tell me you’re wet, sweetheart,” he said, gripped the door frame with white knuckles.

Somehow, she nodded.

“Oh, _fuck_.” William looked down the hall to make sure the coast was clear. “We’re going to the house, right now.”

“I -”

“Grab your purse.” William reached behind the door to grab his briefcase before pulling Amanda by the hand to the lift, making her nearly falter in her heels.

They waited, side by side, but not too close together, for the doors to open for them. Amanda heard her heart in her ears, knowing exactly what was in store for her for the next forty-eight hours.

“Hand them to me,” William said, not taking his eyes off the doors.

“What?”

“Thomas said they’re in your purse.” He turned to her, and she gasped at his blue eyes. “Hand them. To me.”

Without breaking his gaze, she dug her hand into the bag, grabbing onto the scrap of lace and holding it out to him, now hardly caring if someone rounded the corner to see the exchange.

His large hand swallowed the panties, hiding them completely before he slipped them into his pocket at the same moment the doors finally opened.

They barely closed behind them before William’s briefcase hit the floor, and Amanda was pressed back to the cold wall of the lift, William’s hands hard on her hips. Her own purse fell from her grip onto the floor by her shoes.

“You’re ours for the weekend, then?” he whispered, his hand starting to slip under the blouse.

“Yes,” she whimpered, meeting his eyes, and once again she was very aware of her lack of panties.

“Mm. All ours.” His hand cupped her breast, her nipples hardening at his touch. “But for just a bit…” She gasped as he fell to his knees, lifting her skirt up. “You’re all mine, baby.”

In a flash, his head had disappeared under the fabric of her skirt, and just before he pressed his tongue to her, Amanda thought about the consequences of what would happen if the lift door opened to a stranger. But the second she felt William find his place between her legs, the worry slipped away.

Not that she would _ever_ complain.


	10. Stress Less

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an incredibly stressful day at Hiddleston Corporations, William is desperate for a way to release some stress. Luckily, Amanda walks in at just the right time.

## Stress Less

“Goddamn, mother _fucker_!” William yelled, jamming his thumb to his phone as he ended the call. His voice echoed in the empty lift, and he fought to control his breathing. “Fucking bollocks, _fuck_.” His grip on his briefcase was so tight he felt the tips of his fingers start to tingle.

The doors opened, and he left so fast that he ran his shoulder into one of the closing doors.

“Revoke Martell’s access to the servers,” he barked at Amanda, making her jump.

“Sir?”

“I just got back from firing him,” he said, fighting back a groan at the flurry of emails appearing on his phone’s screen. “I don’t want him coming back.”

Amanda tucked back a curl that had fallen from her bun. “Fired him? But what about -”

“The Schubert merger?” William shook his head. “He really fucked it over, that bloody -”

“Sir,” she said, slowly standing. “William.”

William looked up, meeting her eyes. So full of worry, genuine concern. A physical reminder he didn’t need to yell. One touch from her, one look, even, and he felt weights lifted off of him.

He sighed, genuinely sorry for snapping at her. “He leaked it, and scared Schubert off, not to mention all of his fucking reports and files were completely wrong, to the point that Schubert nearly threw me out for ‘wasting his bloody time’ and -”

Amanda reached across the span on her desk, gently touching his forearm to cut him off. “It’s okay. We didn’t need the merger anyway.”

“But it took bloody months, and the press will rip us to shreds.” He shook his head again. “This, this merger would’ve secured us back to how it was twenty years ago. No more double checking the accounts every month, just to be safe.” He bit his lip, suddenly remembering the raise he was going to give her when the deal was done. “Now it’s all gone to shit.”

She shrugged, a small smile on her deep brown lips. “But we’re still alright, aren’t we? Even without Martell, if the merger wasn’t meant to happen, it just wasn’t meant to happen.” She ran her thumb up and down the side of his arm. “Not saying you’re not allowed to be angry, because seriously, fuck Martell.”

William let out a chuckle at her language, feeling less murderous and more resentful and angry. Fuck Martell, indeed.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he muttered, not wanting someone to potentially hear. “This is the exact reason I keep you around.”

“I should hope there may be others,” she whispered back, a knowing look in her eye as she released his arm and sat back down. “Besides, I really thought Hiddleston-Schubert was an awful name.”

“Thank you for the reassurance, sweetheart.” He was still seething inwardly at the events of the last few hours, but not as badly. Amanda, as usual, was right. But Christ, his blood was boiling. “Will you revoke his access, please?”

“Can I do that?” she asked, confused.

“I’m giving you permission to, so yes,” he replied, with a wink before he stepped back into his office.

* * *

“It’s libel, Jerry, and I want it gone.”

“I understand that, sir, but Schubert’s attorneys -”

“I don’t give a damn about Schubert’s attorneys,” William spat into the receiver of his desk phone. “Get them. To pull. The article.”

Jerry sighed on the other end, knowing that one way or the other, he was going to have to get the article in question rolled back. Damn Martell, and damn Schubert, for fucking over nearly four months of work that would now company to the haunt William’s company. It would take equally as long to fix what had been done, the words that had been said.

“Did you hear me?” William muttered, squeezing his eyes shut as he felt a massive headache brewing.

“Yes, yes, I heard you. I’ll see what I can do.” The call clicked off, and had the phone not been attached to a cord, William would have thrown in clear across the room.

Damn today, he thought, pouring another glass of whiskey from the tumbler he usually kept in his cabinet. Now, it sat on his desk, only half as full than it had been at the start of the day. His fingers were itching, need to punch something, shoot something, fuck something -

He stopped mid-pour. Now, that last one might have some merit to it until he could get to the shooting range.

A knock on his door broke his thoughts. “Sir?”

Ah, perfect timing.

Amanda strut into his office with her face in her iPad, absentmindedly closing the door behind her. “I’ve just seen it, sir, and -”

“Amanda, doll,” William said, taking a deep breath out. “Would you be so kind to lock the door?”

Amanda halted, looking up at from her device with furrowed brows. “Are you -”

“Help me blow off a little steam, baby.”

Her face changed, understanding exactly what he meant. Though it had been weeks since he’d last asked her to hold the calls, lock the door, and spend a bit of time away from the office. Only with him.

“Should, should I tell reception –”

“I don’t bloody care, baby, but I really do not want to want much longer,” he said candidly, running a hand through his hair.

“Yes, William.” Ever the obedient one, her heels rapped against the hardwood as she swiftly locked the door and tossed her iPad into a nearby leather seat.

Amanda bit her lip as she turned back to face him, taking a deep breath and smoothing out her pencil skirt as she made her way back to William’s desk.

“No need for that, sweetheart,” he said as he watched her hands carefully. “It won’t matter in a few moments.” He loved the way she slightly shuddered at that. “Come.” He held out his hand to beckon her to his office chair, admiring every curl tucked so neatly atop her head, every curve of her legs under her skirt, every speck of blush on her golden brown face. God, she was beautiful.

When she came within reach, William not-so-gently took her wrist to yank her onto his lap. He bit back a groan at the way her mouth opened when she gasped.

“Amanda.” He found her eyes, wide and dark and hungry. They probably matched his own. “I can’t be gentle, not… not right now. I, I need –”

“To blow off some steam,” she finished, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I know. I…” she swallowed, looking at his lips. “I’ll be whatever you need, William.”

She was too fucking perfect.

He kissed her, hard, needing to taste her needing to claim her needing to _feel_ her. She opened to him, allowing him the control he so desperately wanted after the day’s events, and she moaned as his large hand wrapped around her delicate throat.

He went to grab at her hair, feel the strands between her fingers, but instead found only air. He broke from her, her lips already swollen from his work.

“Take down your hair, Amanda.” His voice was rough, maybe too rough, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything except the feel of her body against his own.

On command the bun came down, her thick and natural curls cascading across her hair. One of his favorite looks on her, second only to her face each time she climaxed from his tongue. He felt himself harden, and she must have too, from the way she took the opportunity to grind into his lap.

No more time for foreplay, then.

His arms were around her, hugging her tightly as he stood, and she squealed when he took the two long steps to his beloved windows.

The glass against her back was cold, catching Amanda so off-guard that one of her legs around William started to fall.

“Oh no no no, baby,” William moaned into her neck. “You’ve got to hold onto me.” He hiked her leg back up, his hand then working to push the material of her skirt to around her waist. “So I can take you like I want.”

“Yes, yes, sir,” she breathed, rolling her head back against the window. God, she loved how big he was, even cornered and trapped and held down by him. That was her favorite place in the world to be - under one, or both, of the twins.

“I want to fuck you. Here. Now. Just like this, Amanda.” He growled, biting her earlobe and thrusting a hand down her underwear. “For all of fucking London to see.”

Her hands wound into his hair so tightly at his words as she shuddered, wanting to lose herself in the pleasure that William always provided. “Please, William.”

“Beg. Me.” He slipped his fingers inside her. “Tell me what you want with that fucking voice what you want me to do.” Her mouth formed a perfect “O” when he crooked his fingers, rubbing up against her g-spot. God, he was straining to be inside her.

“W-William!” She fought to keep her eyes open. “Fuck me, please. I, I want to come, I want you to, to fuck me so everyone can see oh _god_!”

“Shhhh, baby,” William grinned wickedly. “People are still working.”

“William…”

“I’ll fuck you, baby.” He removed his fingers from her to unzip himself, “You know I will.”

Amanda watched as his long, hard cock appeared before her, wanting more than anything for it to be inside her. “Please, please.”

She hardly had to say anything else before she got her wish, William filling her so completely that her legs almost fell again. Nothing else mattered as inch by inch of his cock worked her into a squirming mess.

“Christ,” William growled, putting his forehead against hers. “You’re so fucking tight.”

A hard thrust pushed Amanda up the glass, the curls of her hair bouncing and falling each time she came down. She was made for this, made for fucking, and not only fucking his stress away, and made for being displayed through his windows like a priceless work of art.

“Harder, please, fuck!” she moaned, her heels digging into his back and ass.

He did as she asked, driving into her hard enough she was sure they would shatter the window. And god, she felt everything, felt her climax coiling inside her so tightly she wanted to scream. Harder and harder he thrust inside her, pushing her further up the window and closer to the edge.

“I’m - William I’m -”

“Come,” he huffed, feeling himself nearing his end. “Come, Amanda, fucking come -”

He cut her orgasmic scream off with a kiss just as she tightened around him, her arms falling away from his neck as her body shook. He lost himself when she moaned into his mouth, coming inside her with a need to deep to describe.

They stood there together, wrapped in each other’s limbs up against the massive window, sharing staggered kisses and deep breaths as their heart rates slowed. William could have sworn theirs were synchronized.

“Thank you,” he whispered, looking up to catch her gaze under heavy lids. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

She giggled, her face and neck flush from their encounter. “Whatever you need, sir.”


	11. Candy Apple Cocktails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas and William throw a Halloween bash at one of their clubs, complete with a costume party for the female party goers. They have a certain prize in mind for the winner.

## Candy Apple Cocktails

“You’ve made the place look like an American haunted house, brother.”

“I had no input on the decor, actually. I rather like it though, besides the spider webs.”

William looked around the club from the second floor, surveying the Halloween decorations that were adorning the walls, bar, and tables for the weekend. Plastic bats hung from the tall ceilings, small artifical Jack-o-Lanterns could be found on each table, and spider webs interwoven with purple garland covered the bar. He had to admit, a Halloween special wasn’t a bad idea on Thomas’s part.

“And here’s the drink specials,” Thomas said, handing him a copy of the night’s special menu.

“You’ve certainly put some thought into this,” his twin said as he read over the list of concoctions, most with themed names.

“That I have, even though most of those came from Amanda, said she found them on… I don’t know, some site where she ‘pins’ recipes or whatever.” Thomas pointed over to a small stage by in front of the DJ. “That’ll be where the costume contest is. Winner gets free drinks for the rest of the night.”

“Right. Categories?”

Thomas grinned. “Well, sluttiest probably wasn’t in good taste.”

William rolled his eyes. “Seriously, Thomas.”

“I know, I know. Mostly going off creativity, I think. No black dresses and cat ears.”

“Fair enough.” He put the drink menu back with the stack. “I truly hesitate to ask this, but have you already picked out our costumes?”

“We’re thirty three, you really think I got us costumes?” Thomas asked, incredulous. But at William’s unfazed stare, he barked out a laugh. “Course I did, they’re back at the house. Let’s go.”

* * *

“Isn’t the whip more usually your thing?”

“Well jedis can’t have whips, now can they? They’ve got lightsabers.” Thomas tapped his finger to his temple as they entered the back entrance of the club. “Think, little brother.

William fiddled with his hat, a bit too big and falling forward to obstruct his vision. “I’m thinking you’re a child and you should have never been in charge of Halloween.”

“You love Indiana Jones!”

“As a cinematic experience, not as someone I want to be!” William immediately felt hot in the crowded space under the faux leather jacket. “You can’t say the same, you’ve been wanting to be Skywalker since we were three.”

Thomas smiled back at him, his white teeth contrasting against his hair and all black attire. “I won’t deny that, only because you’re my brother.”

“Why couldn’t I have been Bond or some shit,” William grumbled. “Would’ve been more comfortable.”

“Don’t be a downer,” Thomas grabbed a drink from a passing waiter and took a long sip. “Just look at the attire, or lack there of, the girls here tonight.”

For the first time William glanced around the dance floor, taking in the masses of women in every corner of the club. He suddenly felt like he and Thomas were wearing far too much clothes, and he studied a group of fairies, or angels, as they made their way up to the second floor to get a better view.

The night was filled with remixes of classic Halloween songs that reverberated throughout the building as the twins drank and observed. Thomas had to hand it to Amanda, the drinks she’d chosen were spectacular, and he had more than one “vampire blood” shot brought up for him and his brother.

They had to admit, it was pretty fucking fun.

Eventually the DJ cut off the music to announce the costume contest, and a hoard of women came to the front to be chosen to stand on stage. The twins grinned at each other when ten were pulled up on the platform.

“Alright, looks like we’ve got a pretty good range, yeah?” The DJ said into the microphone, and the others cheered. “Now we’re gonna go down the line, girlies, and tell us your name and why you chose your costume. Ready?”

Each girl did just that with a smile and a hair flip, from a zombie nurse to a Little Red Riding Hood. As they spoke, the twins whispered back and forth to each other while Thomas texted the DJ below them.

“Thank you very much darlings, now we’re going to narrow it down to our top four!” More cheers erupted, a distraction as the DJ read the texts off his phone. “First off, you’re all fucking beautiful, no doubt, so let’s give ‘em all a big hand! Right, if we could have Pidge the mermaid, Jillian the flapper, Princess Leia, sorry darling I forgot your name, and Kayla the astronaut all stay on stage, our finalists!”

William kicked Thomas when he chuckled at the Princess Leia jumping up and down in excitement. “She can’t win, you’d be fucking your sister.”

Thomas’s grin faltered. “Way to take the fun out of it, Christ.” He sighed, looking back down at her. “Runner up then?”

“You don’t have a runner up prize!”

“Free drinks till midnight for runner up, winner till last call. She’s still fucking adorable, William.”

She was, William had to admit. “Fine, alright. That means I pick winner.”

“We both pick winner!”

“I want the flapper or the mermaid.”

“What if I wanted the astronaut?”

“I’ve decided the flapper.”

“But!”

William grabbed the phone out of Thomas’s hand and texted downstairs.

“Now, the moment we’ve been waiting for, girlies.” The DJ started the music back up, dim in the background. “It seems our judges liked you all a bit too much, so there will now be a runner-up! She’ll get free drinks until midnight, so better drink up! Winner will have free drinks till last call, sound good to you?” The four girls on stage clapped and cheered. “First, let’s congratulate our runner-up: Princess Leia!” The girl in question started jumping again, and even hugged the DJ before she started running to the bar. “Well, someone better keep an eye on that one. Now, you all ready for the winner?”

William smiled at the fidgety flapper pulling at the tassles on the bottom of her dress as she chewed on her bottom lip. “I’m quite ready,” he mumbled to no one in particular.

“Drum roll please!” A deafening beat went on for a few seconds before the DJ yelled into the mic, “JILLIAN THE FLAPPER!”

She looked genuinely surprised as the other girls on stage applauded her, and the DJ went to drape an arm around her. “Congratulations Jilly darling, you plan on utilizing your prize?”

“Oh hell yes,” she replied confidently, deep dimples showing from her wide smile. “Thank you to the judges! I’ll enjoy my next candy apple cocktail because of you!” The room went up in applause again.

“You do just that, darling,” Thomas said and turned to William. “Fine, flapper it is.”

They start to make their way to where Jillian had settled herself at the bar, but Thomas was momentarily stopped by his runner-up pick.

“Is that a lightsaber in your pocket or are you happy to see me?” Leia purred at him when she caught his arm as the twins passed by, a glass of something red in her hand.

“Ooh, darling,” Thomas gave her a long once over and licked his lips before William took his other arm and pulled. “Another time!” He called to her as she was lost in the sea of bodies on the dance floor.

Jillian was surrounded by one of each specialty drink, colors all around the bar. She was giggling with a few of the other girls, commenting on their costumes while they sat around her. Her thin eyes widened when the twins stood in front of her, but she managed to smile.

“Hi there!” She said, and William caught a glimpse of her dimples.

“Enjoying your drinks, doll?”

“Oh god yes, I can’t stop drinking the candy apples!” She giggled, and Thomas smiled.

“Well, we’re very glad you enjoy them,” Thomas said. “We were the judges, actually.”

Her eyes grew even more. “No!”

“Yes,” William chuckled. “I’m William, this is my brother Thomas.”

“The owner.” Thomas laughed too at her surprised expression. “So we figured it best we introduced ourselves.”

“Oh of course!” She tucked a hair behind her ear that had fallen from the intricate hair design she’d made. “Thank you soooo much, I’m having a great time.”

William stepped up behind her, leaning against the bar. “You know…”

“You’re exceptionally beautiful, darling.” Thomas stepped in front of her and took the seat across from her, thighs almost intertwined under the bar. “And there may be another prize in your future, if you’re interested.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Really?”

William liked Jillian, her adorable innocence and genuine smile. It made him want her even more. “It’s another special.” Her head whipped around to meet his gaze. “Two for the price of one.”

Her brows furrowed for a fraction of a second before her cheek flushed bright red, easily noticeable against the pale hue of her skin. “Like, um, the two of…”

“Yes,” Thomas finished for her, a smirk on his lips. “Like I said…”

“Only if you’re interested,” William said and smiled down at her. “But something tells me you are.”

Her smile was nervous, knowing she was caught. “Maybe?” She shrugged and giggled. “I mean, me? Really?”

“Yes, you, darling.” Thomas swiped his thumb over her knee and she gasped. “Is that so hard to believe?”

“With you two?” She flicked her gaze between them, black eyebrows high on her forehead. “Yes?”

“Trust us, doll.”

“We wouldn’t lie.”

Jillian was silent for another moment before taking the last long sip of her cocktail. “Fuck it, let’s go then.” She stood, her sudden surge of confidence making William chuckle. “But wait!” She shot a worried look at Thomas. “My free drinks!”

He stood as well and took her gloved hand. “We’ve got a full bar at our place. No last call.”

“And we’ll throw in breakfast.”

Her smile brought out those dimples again as she put the empty glass on the bar. “What a night.”

The twins caught each other’s gazes for a moment as they led her out to the back exit. What a night indeed.


End file.
